Category: The Church the Body of Christ

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 #6

Wednesday, February 20, 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?

Salvation from hell—“God who will have all men to be saved” (today’s Scripture).

What has God done for man that man could never do for himself? How has the Lord Jesus Christ dealt with our sin problem, fully and completely? What must we do to be saved, to appropriate to our account, what Jesus Christ did for us, so we can avoid eternal hellfire?

The Gospel of the Grace of God answers these questions. “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Salvation from false teaching—“God who will have all men to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (today’s Scripture).

Why is Almighty, holy God willing to save us weak, sinful humans from the hellfire we deserve? What will He do with us who have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour? How does Christ’s finished crosswork impact our lives on a daily basis?

Dispensational Bible study answers these questions. We study all of the Bible, but we emphasize Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, God’s Word written to and about us members of the Church the Body of Christ. God will use us in the heavenly places for all eternity to glorify Jesus Christ there (2 Corinthians 5:1; Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 2:6,7; 2 Timothy 4:18). “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” (Colossians 2:6). We received Christ by faith without our works; our Christian life will operate likewise—by faith in what Christ will do in and through us. “Ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). We are “dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:11).

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….

Fearful Versus Fearless

Monday, February 4, 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).

As our world wallows in fear and uncertainty, we have peace and strength in Christ.

In recent months, I have spoken to Christians and lost people who are concerned about national and world events. Both lost and saved people alike know that our culture, especially in the United States, is undergoing significant change. Decades ago, one Christian brother lamented, “Society’s moral fabric is rotting.” I wonder what he would say today?! To exacerbate the situation, the quality of much of Christendom’s teaching and preaching is just as godless and unscriptural as society’s morality. But there is hope!

God did not take us to heaven the moment we trusted Christ as our personal Saviour. Instead, He left us here on earth. Why? Jesus Christ, “the light of the world” (John 8:12), now lives in us members of His Body. We Christians are the vessels in which God has deposited the life of His Son, so He can then manifest His spiritual light to this dark world! Beloved, it is our privilege to be here as “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). Let us not shrink away in fear.

Instead of being fearful and hiding in our homes to avoid the evil world system, we can be fearless beacons of hope and light in and to this lost and dying world. Paul’s encouraging words to the Philippians were: “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain” (2:14-16).

We, the Church the Body of Christ, may be a small group of people, and yes, we King James Bible Pauline dispensationalists are a remnant within that remnant, but God Almighty is on our side, and nothing He does is in vain. Let us fearlessly continue in sound Bible doctrine!

Twice-Guilty Thieves #6

Friday, January 18, 2013

“For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face” (2 Corinthians 11:20 KJV).

Beloved, take today’s Scripture to heart, lest religion take your heart so they can take from you!

Today’s “name it and claim it” preachers instruct us to claim Israel’s verses for healing and material wealth. Did this work for our Apostle Paul and other members of the Church the Body of Christ?

Paul described his life: “In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness” (2 Corinthians 11:27; cf. 1 Corinthians 4:11-13; 2 Corinthians 6:4,5). He knew what it was to “be full and be hungry, to abound and to suffer need” (Philippians 4:12). Consider the Macedonian Christians who knew “deep poverty” (2 Corinthians 8:2). Paul begged God for deliverance three times regarding his troubles, and yet they continued (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Verse 10: “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” Which “name it and claim it” preacher quotes those passages?! None! (They ignore them because they are not conducive to funding.)

Rather than temporary physical healing, as God promised Israel, today in the Dispensation of Grace, the Lord promises us everlasting spiritual healing. We have forgiveness of sins in and through Christ (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14). At the rapture, we Christians will be eternally delivered from these bodies of sickness and death, and we will receive new glorified bodies (Romans 8:18-25; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 2 Corinthians 5:1-5; Philippians 3:20,21). We are already “blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). Everything God can give us, He did so the moment we trusted Christ as our personal Saviour. We did not work for those blessings; Jesus Christ did!

Dear reader, let not religion take advantage of you by (mis)using Israel’s verse to gain the purse (today’s Scripture). Stand by faith in your identity in Christ, and be not moved. Do not confuse yourself with Israel.

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!” 🙂

Established Saints #6

Monday, January 7, 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.

God wants “perfected” (matured) saints, an “edified” (built up) Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12). Thus, the layout of Paul’s epistles in Scripture is designed to educate the grace saint from spiritual infancy to spiritual adulthood, so the Christian can understand God’s will, delight in His will, and then work with Him to accomplish His will, like an educated, grown son would help his father in the “family business!” Hence, the “doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness” of the Holy Bible makes “perfect” Christians who are “throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16,17).

“For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age [spiritually mature], even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:13,14). As 1 Peter 2:2 says, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”

The Apostle Paul, in today’s Scripture, wanted to visit Rome and teach the saints sound Bible doctrine. The Holy Spirit through Paul desired these saints to be “established,” that their minds would be firmly settled in a clear understanding of God’s Word to us. However, Paul was repeatedly hindered by Satan’s policy of evil (verse 13). So, he wrote an epistle—the book of Romans—and sent it to Rome.

Dear saints, as in the case with the Roman saints, Satan will attempt to prevent you from learning God’s truth, too. Denominationalism hinders your spiritual growth, stunting the growth of your inner man as junk food does your outer man, thus robbing you and leaving you ignorant of God’s will. According to today’s Scripture, if you want to be “established” spiritually, you must rely on what Paul wrote 2,000 years ago, and forget appealing to church tradition!

Established Saints #5

Sunday, January 6, 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.

God wants us believers “established;” that is, to have us understand His Word as the Apostle Paul did. Our Lord Jesus Christ desires to His fill us with His life, but He cannot live His life in and through us until we know the doctrine that is His life!

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16,17). Paul’s epistles follow this “doctrine, reproof, correction” pattern. Notice:

  • Romans – basic grace doctrine (Calvary’s finished crosswork: how it saves us and impacts our daily living; Israel’s past, present, and future statuses; practical grace living)
  • 1&2 Corinthians – reproof (carnality/spiritual immaturity, fornication, philosophy, pagan idolatry, denial of bodily resurrection, abuse of spiritual gifts, misuse of the Lord’s Supper, denial of Paul’s apostleship, embracing false teachers, condemned)
  • Galatians – correction (works-religion/legalism [Mosaic Law-keeping] condemned)
  • Ephesians – advanced form of Romans (Calvary’s finished crosswork: how it forms the Body of Christ and accomplishes God’s overall plan in creation).
  • Philippians – advanced form of 1&2 Corinthians (reproving disorderly saints)
  • Colossians – advanced form of Galatians (correcting asceticism, “self-denial” for religious purposes)
  • 1&2 Thessalonians – doctrine of the Lord’s coming for the Church Body of Christ (1), and for the nation Israel (2). After our glorification in heaven, reproof and correction are unnecessary.
  • 1&2 Timothy – church order
  • Titus – church order and good works
  • Philemon – brotherly love and Christian fellowship

The moment we trust Christ as our Saviour, we are spiritual babies. But, God wants us to grow spiritually, to become mature believers, to learn more and more and more about what He is doing and why He is doing it. We can then appreciate His Word and understand His purpose and plan for creation.

Established Saints #1

Wednesday, January 2, 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.

The Apostle Paul desired to come to Rome and see these saints many times, but he was “let [hindered] hitherto” (verse 13). He wanted to “impart unto [them] some spiritual gift.” His goal in doing so was to have them “established,” which is defined as “the mutual faith of [the Apostle Paul] and [them].”

The Holy Spirit through Paul is writing that He wants every believer to have a clear, firm understanding of the Pauline grace doctrine (Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon). God wants us to have the same understanding of His Word as the Apostle Paul did: What is God doing today? Forming the Church the Body of Christ. Why is He doing this? To have an agency He can use in the heavenly places in the ages to come, for His glory. How does the Christian life operate? By faith in sound grace Bible doctrine—not the Mosaic Law—which the Holy Ghost will use to transform the minds and lifestyles of believers.

As a dear brother in Christ says, “Your Christian life will not operate on the basis of ignorance!” Oftentimes, believers have such an extremely shallow understanding of Scripture that they are prone to be “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine…” (Ephesians 4:14). Sadly, Satan’s religious system sweeps them away into serving a denomination, filling their minds with worthless “commandments and doctrines of men” (Colossians 2:22), and thus making their Christian life a “shipwreck” (1 Timothy 1:19).

Dear saints, God’s fervent desire, Paul’s fervent desire, and our fervent desire for you this year is that you be “established” in sound Pauline Bible doctrine—that you do not simply know about Paul’s ministry, message, and doctrine, but you also understand them and believe them. This will bring stability in your Christian life, and guard you against Satan’s deception in religion and philosophy.