Category: spiritual immaturity

Never Look Back

Monday, April 29, 2013

“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,” (Philippians 3:7,8 KJV).

I was recently encouraged to hear two dear brothers in Christ discuss their transition from being denominational preachers to grace preachers. The Apostle Paul summarized his in today’s Scripture.

Saul of Tarsus was a religious zealot: he was a religious leader of Israel, a wealthy Pharisee (Jesus had condemned Pharisees as self-righteous and greedy.) Jesus Christ and His Jewish believers were a threat to Saul’s religion; thus, Saul mercilessly hunted down and dragged these Messianic Jews to prison. In Acts chapter 7, through the prophet Stephen, the Holy Spirit pleaded with Israel’s leadership to accept Jesus as their Messiah. Alas, unbelieving Israel stoned Stephen to death—Saul witnessed it with pleasure! (Saul was highly influential in Israel’s fall before God.)

God’s wrath on wicked Saul of Tarsus, the whole world, and especially Israel, was swiftly approaching. Just before that wrath fell, God’s grace and peace interrupted it.

In Acts chapter 9, once Saul thought he had arrested every Jew in Jerusalem who had believed Jesus was Messiah, he headed north to Damascus to arrest Messianic Jews there. Before he reached Damascus, he personally met the risen, ascended, and glorified Lord Jesus Christ and was never the same again! He trusted Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour, and he quit his silliness in religion. For the next 35 years, he preached the grace of Jesus Christ, the Person he had so vehemently opposed.

Once he made the transition from the traditions of men to the message of God’s grace to us in Christ, Paul lost his fame and fortune (sounds familiar, huh?). His salary as a denominational leader dwindled, his “friends” scattered, and he was branded a “heretic” (sounds familiar, huh?). So what! In his own words, that was all “but dung” (today’s Scripture)—he “won Christ,” and never looked back… May we follow his ensample. 🙂

Good Riddance! #7

Monday, April 15, 2013

“Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you” (1 John 3:13 KJV).

God’s people have never been welcome here in “this present evil world” (Galatians 1:4) because He has never been welcome here. In short, if lost people could utter two words to us Christians after we have been raptured out, it would be, “Good riddance!”

The unsaved, hell-bound world around us complains, “Jesus preached love! Why are you judging? You Christians need to stop trying to force your beliefs on others and just focus on the wonderful things Jesus did and said.” To these “defenses,” we reply to them, “Where is your love for Jesus, for His people, for His Word? Why do you hate Jesus’ people for repeating His wisdom?”

Of course, our questions to them are rhetorical—we know the answers (lost people hate Jesus Christ, they hate His people, for sinners and saints are from two very different families!). Their questions, on the other hand, are just desperate attempts to avoid accountability to a holy righteous God, to ease one’s conscience, to discredit the message, to ignore their sin problem, to blame shift, et cetera.

Beloved, this thoroughly confused, lost, and dying world still needs the forgiveness and soul salvation only found in the Lord Jesus Christ, and His death, burial, and resurrection as sufficient payment for their sins. Like Cain, they use religion to cover up their sins (to no avail). They, like Cain, ignore God’s “words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Like Cain, they want to change the laws God has already established and replace them with “alternate” beliefs, and get rid of those who speak out against it. They, like Cain, live their lives the way they want, but without coming by faith in Jesus Christ, they will never come to know their Creator God. They can die in their sins and go to hellfire denying God’s Word forever and ever, but it will still be true. They can even hate and murder God’s people, the Christians, but the message the saints preach is authoritative, relevant, eternal, and true!

They know they cannot get rid of God’s Word, so they attempt to get rid of God’s people….

Good Riddance! #3

Thursday, April 11, 2013

“Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you” (1 John 3:13 KJV).

God’s people have never been welcome here in “this present evil world” (Galatians 1:4) because He has never been welcome here. In short, if lost people could utter two words to us Christians after we have been raptured out, it would be, “Good riddance!”

Our sinful world despises absolute standards concerning morals and ethics (it does demand them regarding finances). Christians preaching and teaching sound Bible doctrine are a dam that holds back Satan from having complete control over every person. While the devil has fooled much of the world with all sorts of carnal and religious errors, unfortunately for him, those Christians who are King James Pauline dispensational Bible students are not so easily persuaded. Satan can only rule over ignorant people. Thankfully, we are well aware of what is occurring in this world. Man thinks he is on the rise (in actuality, his thinking is upside-down!).

For nearly 20 centuries, both the professing church (Christendom) and (sadly) the genuine, Holy Spirit-indwelt Church the Body of Christ, have allowed the errors of the world to creep into their assemblies, desensitizing them to ungodliness. This is to be expected when sound Bible doctrine is willfully ignored. What is the hallmark of lukewarm Christianity? The member of the average “Christian” church is just as “godly” as the average heathen of the evil world system, resulting in “Christians” siding with and defending the heathen and his social preferences! The heathen and the phony Christian alike hate the true Christian (today’s Scripture)—he, his God the Lord Jesus Christ, and his Holy Bible, are threats to “progress.”

Indeed, we Christians are viewed as “hindrances to progress.” Young earth Bible creationism, monogamous heterosexual marriages, owning weapons for self-defense, having a job, and driving a fossil-fueling-burning vehicle are respective threats to foolish pagan philosophical evolutionary theory, sexually-perverted lifestyles, pacifism, slothfulness, and “mother earth.” In this world, it seems like every belief is to be “tolerated”—except anything from God’s Holy Bible! As the context of today’s Scripture will demonstrate, this was true in the past, and it will be true in the future….

A Papal Prophecy? #11

Sunday, March 10, 2013

“And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time” (2 Thessalonians 2:6 KJV).

The recent resignation of Benedict XVI as pope is being greatly discussed within “Christian” circles in light of eschatology. Are we seeing Bible prophecy fulfilled today, or is this simply the (usual) failure to “rightly divide the word of truth?”

According to 1 Thessalonians 1:6, 1 Thessalonians 2:14, 1 Thessalonians 3:2,3, and 2 Thessalonians 1:3-6, these believers were enduring intense persecution. Furthermore, heresy had slipped into their assembly. False teachers were corrupting these believers, causing them to believe that their suffering was the result of them missing the rapture and now living in the wrath of the Tribulation. Hence, Paul wrote the second chapter of 2 Thessalonians to delineate the distinction between Israel’s prophetic program and our mystery program. Most of today’s professing church is totally ignorant of that chapter!

Bible prophecy is often confusing to people because they do not understand the dispensational layout of the Bible. In fact, Bible prophecy is impossible for many to grasp because they do not approach God’s Word, God’s way. Christendom’s negligence to “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) causes even true, Holy Spirit-indwelt believers to confuse Israel’s program with our program as members of the Church the Body of Christ. Today, some professing Christians are terrified of accepting “the mark of the beast,” scared to death of God’s wrath during the Tribulation. Others point to current world events and exclaim, “Look, Bible prophecy is being fulfilled!” Beloved, if we claim that Bible prophecy is being fulfilled today, we are just as guilty of perverting God’s Word as the false teachers in Thessalonica.

As long as our mystery program—“which was kept secret since the world began” (Romans 16:25) is operating—Israel’s prophetic program—“that which God hath spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21)—cannot be fulfilled. God is not fulfilling prophecy today: He is forming the Church the Body of Christ, something His prophets never spoke about, something He never revealed until the Apostle Paul’s salvation and ministry….

Saved from Hell, But Lost in Tradition #7

Thursday, February 21, 2013

“…God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3,4 KJV).

Can someone go to heaven without ever learning dispensational Bible study?

Yes, provided that they had faith in the right Gospel message, the Gospel of the Grace of God (1 Corinthians 15:3,4): “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day.” Acts 2:38, Matthew 3:2, and Mark 1:15 are not valid Gospels for us today—they are Israel’s salvation message, and they belong in Israel’s program.

While God wants all people to be saved from hell—that every person trust in the shed blood, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ as sufficient payment for his or her sins—God also wants every Christian to understand why He saved him or her (today’s Scripture). Although dispensational Bible study does not provide eternal life and salvation from hell—the Gospel of the Grace of God does that!—it does provide salvation from false teaching by explaining the practical implications of our salvation from hell. God has two programs in His Word, Israel’s prophetic program for earth and our mystery program for the heavenly places, and in the end, “in the dispensation of the fulness of times,” these two programs will bring glory and honor to Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:9,10; Colossians 1:16-20).

Today, there are millions of Christians who are heaven-bound. However, it is unfortunate that the majority have little to no understanding of “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Due to church tradition, they often confuse God’s Word to Israel (Genesis through Malachi, Matthew through John, early Acts, Hebrews through Revelation) with God’s Word to us (Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon); they apply Israel’s doctrine to their lives and then wonder why Bible study becomes burdensome confusion! They, ignorant of God’s will for them, are “taken captive by [the devil] at his will” (2 Timothy 2:26).

Beloved, in Christ, we are saved from hell forever. Now, let us remain steadfast in the rightly divided Scriptures, and let us not be lost in tradition.

We are thrilled to have recently launched our ministry YouTube channel. We only have one home Bible study video uploaded at the moment, but we will upload more as time goes by. By next week, we should have three additional home Bible study videos on YouTube next week! 😉 Praise the Lord! You can “meet” me teaching God’s Word rightly divided at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PncTlYsZ9eA.

Saved from Hell, But Lost in Tradition #4

Monday, February 18, 2013

“…God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3,4 KJV).

Can someone go to heaven without ever learning dispensational Bible study?

What prevents a person from going to heaven is sin, the lack of righteousness. However, God offers His righteousness to us as a free gift: “The righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference” (Romans 3:22). We can be justified—declared righteous before God—by simple faith in Jesus Christ’s perfect sacrifice of Himself for us on Calvary’s cross.

The Gospel of the Grace of God is the solution to man’s sin problem and salvation from hell can be found therein: “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He was raised again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). Once someone places his or her faith in this gospel alone, God imputes (applies) His righteousness to his or her account, and this person is now a permanent member of the Church the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:30; 2 Timothy 1:12). He or she is now heaven-bound, and will avoid the eternal penalty of sin (hell and the lake of fire)!

Although soul salvation from hell is good in and of itself, God has more to say in His Word than simply the Gospel of His Grace. Soul salvation is only part of God’s will for everyone (the first half of today’s Scripture). God now wants the Christian to progress in spiritual maturity, to gain a greater understanding of why he saved him or her (the second half of today’s Scripture). Just as Satan’s policy of evil is designed to blind lost people from understanding the Gospel, and keep them on their way to hell, it also prevents Christians from understanding God’s will for them with respect to spiritual maturity, so they remain spiritually ignorant. Christians are already saved from hell. Now they need to be saved from false (that is, denominational) teaching—this is the goal is dispensational Bible study….

Saved from Hell, But Lost in Tradition #2

Saturday, February 16, 2013

“…God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3,4 KJV).

Can someone go to heaven without ever learning dispensational Bible study?

Soul salvation and spiritual growth, although related, are not to be confused. SIN, not a failure to correctly use and/or comprehend the Bible, is what prevents people from going to heaven.

Lost people are going to hell, not because of their sins (plural), but because they are spiritually dead (the “Adamic nature” that causes their sins). People are not sinners because they sin; they sin because they are sinners. Their main problem is not that they do bad things; their primary issue is the sin nature that causes them to do those bad things. This nature is completely opposed to God, and people gratify it by disobeying Him.

Paul describes the predicament of lost mankind: “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his [God’s] sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:19,20). Our sinful actions simply confirm that we have a nature that is thoroughly anti-God.

The Mosaic Law (specifically the Ten Commandments) condemns us. Because of our wicked nature, we cannot even keep 10 rules to make God happy with us. As the Apostle John wrote, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). In our identity in Adam, we have no righteousness (that is, we have a bad standing before God). A lost soul needs to be made right in God’s sight, before he or she physically dies and goes to hell. In order to go to heaven, his or her sin and sins must be dealt with, and Christ’s finished crosswork provides salvation from those sin and sins. Additionally, God has for this person a teaching curriculum to explain why He will save him or her….

God is Love

Thursday, February 14, 2013

“…God is love… God is love… We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:8b,16b,19 KJV).

The word “love” is used very flippantly in today’s world. Of the many who speak about “love,” few know what it is. On this Valentine’s Day, we offer sound doctrine from God’s Word to correct the misunderstandings of what love really is. What is love, according to God’s Word?

Today’s Scripture says that “God is love”—God does not simply love, but His very nature is love. What does that mean? In 1 John 3:16, we read: “Hereby we perceive the love of God, because he laid down his life for us:” Our Apostle Paul put it this way: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God’s nature is love—selfless, self-sacrificing!

God’s Word defines love and charity in 2 Corinthians 12:15: “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.” Love is seeking the best interest of others, even if it costs you something (time, energy, resources, et cetera). Charity is love in deed (demonstrated, manifested in action). God loved us, so He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. It cost God the Father His Son, and it cost God the Son His life. What a selfless act!

Our nature in Adam is selfish, but our nature in Christ is not. Paul declares, “the love of Christ constraineth us” (2 Corinthians 5:14). We who have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, our Christian lives are driven and motivated by Christ’s love for us, not our love for Him. It is this unselfish love of Christ working in us that causes us to look on the things of others, to seek their edification and their benefit, not ours (Romans 13:8-10; 1 Corinthians 10:24; Philippians 2:1-11). This will result in charity, our selfless actions reflecting that love of Christ (2 Corinthians 12:15).

As the lost world observes our Christian service, they will see, “God is love.”

*Adapted from a larger Bible study with the same name. The (2012) Bible study can be read here or watched here.

333’s 600th – A Daily Banquet for the Inner Man

Sunday, January 20, 2013

“I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways” (Psalm 119:15 KJV).

Beloved, as we reach another milestone, rejoice in Christ with us!

Nothing compares to God’s Word working in you when you believe it (1 Thessalonians 2:13). It takes the lost and dying sinner and makes him or her a saint of the Most High God. It grips the hearts of saints and causes them to do the work of the ministry. It is a lighthouse of hope when the storms of life ravage a soul. It leads one to a deeper understanding of what God is doing today, which results in a greater appreciation of our Creator and Saviour Jesus Christ. But, unless we read the Holy Bible for ourselves—and mostly importantly, believe it—it cannot and will not profit us.

Just as our physical bodies require adequate food to survive, our souls need sufficient sustenance. Religion starves us by offering “morsels [read that crumbs] of ‘truth,’” but our inner man requires more than a skimpy daily ditty of “spiritual wisdom” if it is to mature. Religious tradition will not lead us to spiritual maturity. God uses His Holy Bible, not church tradition, to “effectually work in them that believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

Our purpose is to teach God’s Word, the Holy King James Bible, so it can be understood and enjoyed. We intentionally pack each and every study with as much sound doctrine as space permits. We do not simply talk about the Bible. We study it, consider it, and then believe it, remembering that context is of utmost importance. When studied correctly—“rightly divided” (2 Timothy 2:15)—God’s Word literally becomes a banquet for your soul!

Each daily devotional is designed to cause you to think outside of “religious norms.” You see what God’s Word actually teaches rather than what it is often presumed to teach, and as one brother says, “The ‘old Book’ is made a ‘new Book.’” Every day, we study the King James Bible rightly divided. We “meditate in [God’s] precepts,” and we “have respect unto [His] ways” (today’s Scripture). What a spiritual banquet it is!!!! 🙂

Thank you, dear readers, for your continued prayer. We pray for you upon every remembrance. On to #700!

Established Saints #7

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

“For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end that ye may be established; that is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith of you and me” (Romans 1:11,12 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is God’s will for every believer.

I speak from experience when I claim that denominational teaching hides God’s will from Christians. Religious tradition deceived me for nearly 15 years, so I was scripturally ignorant. Today’s average “Christian” church is so fixated on vain customs, rites, ceremonies, programs, rituals, prayers, dogmas, and experiences, its members have little to no time to study the Bible for themselves. The method whereby God grows us spiritually is Bible study, so if we are distracted by everything else, is it any wonder why most professing Christians know little to nothing about what God is actually doing today, and know everything they presume Him to be doing today?

Dear saints, if we are to be used of God to the fullest extent, we must be “established:” we need to be Christians who have a solid footing in sound Pauline Bible doctrine. This is only possible when we study and believe the Bible “rightly divided” (2 Timothy 2:15). Unless we understand where we are in God’s Word, and where in the Bible to find ourselves, we will never appreciate our identity as members of the Body of Christ, and we will never know what God wants us to do in this the Dispensation of Grace. We do not go to the non-Pauline books of the Bible to try to find God’s will for us there (although we study all of the Bible!).

Trusting Christ as our personal Saviour is our birth into God’s family. Learning that Paul is our apostle is the first “baby step” in the Christian walk. Delving deeper and deeper into Paul’s epistles to discover God’s Word to us, and our belief in those doctrines we read, will mature us spiritually. We can then become adult Christians, who have a clear understanding and an immense appreciation of God’s will for us. Be ye “established saints!” 🙂