Category: The Church the Body of Christ

Instant Christians #9

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2 KJV).

In this day and age of “instant this and instant that,” we need more “instant” Christians!

On his second apostolic journey, in Corinth, Paul met a Jewish couple, Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:1-3). They became co-workers in tent-making… and ministry. As they worked with Paul, he preached to them Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery. Aquila and Priscilla were now saved and skilled in God’s Word rightly divided. This husband and wife became some of Paul’s most dedicated and helpful ministry companions (Romans 16:3,4). Risking their lives many times for Jesus Christ over the next decade, they were active in ministry even as Paul’s execution date was approaching (2 Timothy 4:19).

Acts chapter 18 closes, “[24] And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. [25] This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. [26] And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. [27] And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: [28] For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.”

Apollos was confused and lost, hell-bound. He was not preaching or believing the Bible dispensationally—he was preaching John’s water baptism. All he knew was a now-defunct salvation message preached 20 years earlier, completely ignorant of Christ’s earthly ministry or Paul’s new ministry! Aquila and Priscilla heard Apollos’ fallacious preaching, took him aside, and gently taught him God’s Word rightly divided. He was then saved, grounded in sound Bible doctrine, and able to help Paul in ministry (Acts 19:1; 1 Corinthians 3:5; 1 Corinthians 16:22; Titus 3:13).

The Body of Christ needs “instant” Christians such as Aquila and Priscilla today….

Instant Christians #7

Monday, January 12, 2015

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2 KJV).

In this day and age of “instant this and instant that,” we need more “instant” Christians!

Travelling out-of-state, I once had a very interesting conversation with an Evangelical seminarian-pastor who had a testimony of salvation in Christ. Meeting privately with this brother, I lovingly explained to him that the Greek New Testament he was preaching from was unreliable. Then, I showed him the error in his book, hoping he had an ear to hear and a heart to believe. Although I expected his reaction, I will never forget it. He blurted out to justify the error in his Bible, “We do not have what [Saint] Mark wrote anyway!”

Dear friends, he was no “cultic kook” but a “Bible-believing, Jesus-Christ-loving” preacher who would never, ever, ever even think of saying in his pulpit that today’s Bible is not—yes NOT—identical to the apostles’ Bible! (This heretical view of “textual criticism” drives the endless search for another manuscript reading “closer to the originals,” so another translation “more scholarly” [?] than its predecessors can be publi$hed.) Had this assembly and its deacons known their Bible, they would have asked this pastor the right questions before choosing him… to lead them “into the [doctrinal] ditch” (Matthew 15:14)! Friends, if most preachers spoke their true beliefs about Bible versions, they would agree with this wayward brother. Seminary has polluted them concerning manuscript evidence and Bible versions. Bible critics are the very people leading most “Christian” churches!

Had the Body of Christ studied, known, and appreciated/believed their 400-year-old King James Bible, they would have never purchased a century’s worth of 200 (pathetic, corrupt) modern English versions. They would have known that Satan questions God’s Word and robs mankind of its clarity at every opportunity (Genesis 3:1-5). Had the pastors educated their people in God’s English Bible, and warned them of counterfeits (2 Thessalonians 2:2; 2 Peter 1:18–2:3), Bible publishing companies would have gone bankrupt, no one buying their worthless modern-speech perversions predicated on equally-godless manuscripts. Very few want to hear such strong language, but it is true nonetheless (2 Timothy 4:3,4).

Oh, how we NEED “instant” Christians….

Instant Christians #3

Thursday, January 8, 2015

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2 KJV).

In this day and age of “instant this and instant that,” we need more “instant” Christians!

Let us read today’s Scripture within its context: “[1] I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; [2] Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

To begin this final chapter to the Body of Christ, the Holy Spirit issues a “charge,” a command, what we are to do with the previous three chapters of information. We are ordered to “preach the Word,” not to keep it to ourselves, not to keep it on our bookshelves, and not to hope someone else (with more degrees, more “talent,” more “piety”) will share it with others.

Furthermore, we are to be prepared to preach the Word. Sadly, many people are eager to preach and/or teach the Bible, but sincerity and fervency without spiritual knowledge and wisdom are dangerous. Frankly, the vast majority of people in “Christianity” today, particularly ministers and teachers, need to hush and study their Bible because they have little to no understanding of the Book they claim to be believing and proclaiming (that was me years ago!). It had been better had they said and wrote nothing regarding theology, than to defile God’s people and harm them with the very Bible that should have (had it been taught correctly) stabilized their souls and protected them from the “grievous wolves” lurking in religion (Acts 20:28-32)!

Paul urged Timothy, yea, all Christians, to be “instant in season, out of season.” Ministers and Bible teachers are to be especially mindful that they are leaders in the Christian community, and like all Christians, they have to study God’s Word so they can be ready to minister it, share and proclaim it, in convenient times and in inconvenient times. Saint, you must be prepared, for you never know who will approach you seeking the Bible’s truth, or at what time of day (or night!) you will “come upon” (remember our previous devotional?) them….

Instant Christians #1

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2 KJV).

In this day and age of “instant this and instant that,” we need more “instant” Christians!

Today’s Scripture is a highlight from Paul’s farewell epistle. In this concluding treatise, the Holy Spirit presents the final marching orders to the Church the Body of Christ. Once this last epistle was written, the Bible’s canon was complete—all 66 inspired books were present as scrolls in the first century A.D., ready for copying and distribution to all saints everywhere. Since the penning of 2 Timothy, there has been no further revelation from God: today’s Scripture indicates that Timothy had a complete Bible, a complete divine revelation, and that he was to preach “the word” and nothing else.

According to 2 Timothy 3:15-17, verses previous to today’s Scripture, Timothy was to preach “the scripture” (written text), not “oral church tradition!” Yea, there would be no subsequent “development of doctrine through Sacred Tradition,” but rather depravity of doctrine through church tradition (clearly predicted in 1 Timothy chapter 4 and 2 Timothy chapters 3 and 4). According to 2 Timothy 1:15, apostasy had already infected and misled most Christians, even before Paul wrote that very letter! Few ever realize that the Body of Christ was doctrinally deficient, weak, confused, and deceived 2,000 years ago—even today, the Bible is pushed aside and church members read everything else.

As secular humanism grows stronger culturally, the Christians remain weak. Rather than learning God’s truth to preach it so people can have an alternative to error, church members stay silent (except for the whining about how deception runs rampant). How we grieve with the Holy Spirit that the church abounds with weak Christians! They are learning nothing solid in church meetings, just shallow messages that keep them happy (and ignorant of the deeper things of God’s Word). The cults and world religions thoroughly indoctrinate their members with nonsense, but they put most Christian pastors and members to shameful silence—they know more about their own holy books and our Bible than the Christians do of either!

Oh, how we need “instant” Christians….

Redeem the Year!

Thursday, January 1, 2015

“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 2015!

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.”

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What Scriptural advice can you give me for the New Year?”

‘Twas the Sunday Night Before Christmas

Sunday, December 21, 2014

“But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15 KJV).

Let us not be so sidetracked by religion and commercialization that we miss the reason for the Christmas Season….

During the Christmas Season, we wonder how many people are visiting church for the second time this year (the other being Easter Sunday). How many will be going to church today—the Sunday before Christmas—just to feel “religious” or “holy?” How many really know Jesus Christ? For many, visiting a church building is just an obligation; they do not have faith in God’s Word and have no interest in God’s Word.

We do not go to church to “feel closer to God,” for if we have trusted in Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we cannot be any closer to God than we already are in Christ! “[Before salvation, we were] without God in the world: but now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh [close to God] by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:12,13).

Furthermore, we do not go to church in order to get God’s blessings, for God has already given us “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). We go to church, not because we are keeping Israel’s Sabbath day, since we are not obligated to observe Israel’s religious days (Colossians 2:16). We go to church to fellowship with like-minded believers and hear sound doctrine… more than twice a year, by the way.

In today’s Scripture, the Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy that whenever he would assemble with fellow Christians, certain behavior was acceptable and other types of behavior were not (described throughout the epistle of 1 Timothy). Recall that when the Bible refers to “the church,” it refers to the body of believers, not the physical building in which they meet.

As we get opportunities, let us make an effort to reach these dear souls misled by all the vain religious tradition and Christmas commercialization, and may we tell them of the wonderful Christ Jesus whose name is found in Christmas!

*Based on the poem “‘Twas the Sunday Night Before Christmas.”

Dear saints, only by God’s grace, we now stand at devotional #1300. We consider it an honor to have been able to share God’s Word with you every day for the last 1,300 days. Thank you for the encouragement and prayer, and we look forward to serving you in the future as His grace enables. Onward in Christ we go!

Third of five special-edition Christmas Bible Q&As: “Were there really three wise men?”

Silent Building #10

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

“And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building” (1 Kings 6:7 KJV).

God is doing something similar today, very quietly too….

When praying for the believers in Ephesus (essentially, he was praying for us), the Apostle Paul said, “[14] For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, … [16] That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; [17] That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, [18] May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; [19] And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-19).

Paul did not want ignorant Christians, spiritually impotent Christians, spiritually weak Christians—this is much of today’s Christianity, sadly. He wanted strong, mature Christians, those who could do the work of the ministry, those who would not be tossed around and carried about with every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:12-14). Paul knew what the Holy Spirit knew: once the Christian gets a grip on God’s Word rightly divided, then God’s Word rightly divided gets a grip on the Christian! Christ can then dwell in our hearts by faith (us believing that sound doctrine)—our eternal life can be brought into our lifestyle!

There was a time when mankind could not know what God was doing (for God had not revealed that information). Now, with the “revelation of the mystery,” all of God’s will is revealed (Ephesians 1:8-10). God wants to fill us with His life, to one day use us in the heavenly places! It all starts when we study and believe God’s Word rightly divided, that the Holy Spirit will then build in us that edifice of sound doctrine, that dwelling place of Christ! 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&As: “What are the ‘marks’ of Galatians 6:17?” and “Why does the Bible say that Jesus was ‘slain and hanged on a tree?’”

Silent Building #9

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

“And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building” (1 Kings 6:7 KJV).

God is doing something similar today, very quietly too….

Religionists always emphasize seeing and hearing “God” (?) at work in circumstances—miracles, visions, angels, audible voices, and so on. However, God is not working audibly or visibly today. His Holy Spirit is working silently in each Christian, using His Holy Word rightly divided to build in them doctrine that cause them to be His house forever, vessels of His life!

In his final epistle to the Body of Christ, the Holy Spirit said: “[20] But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. [21] If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (2 Timothy 2:20,21).

Beloved, we can either be “garbage-can Christians” or “grace-motivated Christians.” “Garbage-can Christians” are filled with garbage doctrine—the sins of the world (lasciviousness, secularism, loose living, human evil) and/or the sins of the spirit (religious tradition, non-rightly-divided Scripture, philosophies of men, human “goodness”). “Grace-motivated Christians” are filled with sound doctrine—always mindful of God’s grace to them in Christ, that He is their everything (their life, strength, Counselor, Head, righteousness, hope, and so on). One can only be a “grace-motivated Christian” if he or she is skilled in God’s grace (Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon).

“Garbage-can Christians” are not living in their identity in Christ; although bound for heaven, their Master cannot use them because the Bible says they are “vessels to dishonour.” If we are to be “grace-motivated Christians,” if we are to be “vessels to honour,” able to do “every good work” (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16,17), we must heed the “doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness” in Romans through Philemon, that we may work with God in building His temple today.

Let us conclude this devotionals arc….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What are the ‘marks’ referenced in Galatians 6:17?”

Silent Building #8

Monday, December 8, 2014

“And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building” (1 Kings 6:7 KJV).

God is doing something similar today, very quietly too….

We read in Ephesians 2:19-22: “[19] Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; [20] And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; [21] In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: [22] In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”

Father God’s will for us is that we grow spiritually. The Lord Jesus wants to not simply indwell us but feel comfortable, feel “at home,” in our inner man. His life will then become our life (for our Christian life really is His life!). Our identity in Christ is only in Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon: the Body of Christ is described nowhere else in Scripture. To focus on and apply to life other Scripture is to ignore your identity, overlook what God is doing today, neglect what God gave you, and so on.

Not knowing your identity detrimentally impacts your life. Satan’s assault against members of the Church the Body of Christ is to have them ignore Paul’s epistles. Once they focus on all the other Scriptures and apply them to their lives, they operate apart from the identity God gave them in Christ. Satan’s system causes us to focus on Israel’s prayer promises, Israel’s baptisms, Israel’s tithing, Israel’s miracles, Israel’s earthly kingdom hope, Israel’s material blessings, Israel’s laws, Israel’s feast days, Israel’s apostles, and so on (all found outside Romans through Philemon). No wonder people go around saying we are “spiritual Israel”—claiming Israel’s verses as our own leads to no other conclusion!

The only hope for the Body of Christ’s salvation from false doctrine and doctrinal confusion is to return to Paul’s epistles. Had we not left God’s Word to us, we would not claim God’s Word to others….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Are lost people already forgiven?”

Silent Building #7

Sunday, December 7, 2014

“And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building” (1 Kings 6:7 KJV).

God is doing something similar today, very quietly too….

According to 1 Corinthians 3:9-15, we can build into our Christian lives “gold, silver, precious stones” (God’s Word rightly divided), or we can build into our Christian lives “wood, hay, stubble” (religious tradition, non-rightly-divided Bible, philosophy, denominational thinking). Verse 16 asks, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” We should be careful not to defile God’s temple, our bodies. Scripture warns these false teachers who mislead the Body of Christ: “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (verse 17).

We would hate to stand before God as those who stand in the pulpits and parrot nothing but the traditions of men, denominational thinking, worthless religious doctrine. All those false people are undermining God’s people, polluting them with bad doctrine, and yet, they are ever so covert that they appear to be servants of Jesus Christ and are thus rarely identified as ministers of Satan (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

Romans 16:25-26 says that God wants to “stablish” (stabilize) us using a three-fold process: “according to my [Paul’s] gospel,” and “the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery,” and “by the scriptures of the prophets.” Paul’s Gospel is the Gospel of Grace (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)—Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day. Jesus Christ according to the mystery (secret) program is revealed in Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon. The Scriptures of the prophets is all of the Bible in light of Paul’s writings.

Since church members usually ignore dispensational Bible study, they lack spiritual stability, they are unskilled in Christian service, and they cannot function as God intended. Let us guard against the Adversary’s wiles, that we may participate in God’s silent building….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Is the Church the Body of Christ spoken of in Matthew 16:18?”