Category: King James Bible Authority

Knowledge Not of God

Monday, July 30, 2018

“Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land” (Hosea 4:1 KJV).

While this is Israel 700 years before Christ, it could be said of the Church the Body of Christ 2,000 years after Christ.

One modern “Christian” author is a descendant of a popular “feel-good” minister from many years ago. Perusing through his new 200-page book, I counted 26 verses quoted overall! It was, on average, one verse every seven or eight pages. The verses he did use were quite basic. You would think that a seminary graduate—with two advanced Bible degrees—would be more knowledgeable in Scripture!!

Alas, most seminaries do not educate people using just the Bible. They focus on human wisdom (philosophy), denominational tradition, church history, linguistics (Hebrew and Greek studies), and systematic theology. There is no solid footing or grounding in the Scriptures. Oftentimes, they are taught to make their own Bible translations, which are usually radical departures from the standard English Bible (King James Bible).

In today’s Scripture, God laments the pitiful condition of His people (Israel). He has given them revelation—the Scriptures, prophets, angelic visitations, visions, dreams, and so on—and yet they still are so willfully ignorant of His Word and will for them. Verse 6 goes on to say, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”

Ancient Israel knew plenty of religion (Judaism and heathenism), a lot of history, and plenty of entertainment, but they had no “knowledge of God.” Talk to the average church member, or even preacher, today. They know all about their denominational system, experiences, and theological speculations, but they have not a clue about Pauline doctrine (God’s current dealings with man). No matter what the dispensation, the Devil always distracts God’s people using erroneous teaching and thinking, especially bad Bible doctrine (non-dispensational Bible study) but also no Bible at all. Do not be distracted from valuable knowledge!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Can you shed light on Galatians 3:20?”

A Child of God

Sunday, July 29, 2018

“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28 KJV).

Who is a “child of God?” Who is a Christian?

Someone once stated, “Today, it seems like a Christian is anyone who is not a Jew or a Muslim.” Think about it, dear friend. The name “Christian” has been used so flippantly and inappropriately that its meaning is misconstrued and buried under layers of false teaching. What makes a Christian? What is Christian doctrine?

The Bible rightly divided is the textbook of Christianity—the standard whereby we gauge right from wrong, truth from error. As English-speaking people, God’s Word for us is the King James Bible. It was translated properly (formal equivalence) from the correct Greek and Hebrew texts (Textus Receptus Greek and Masoretic Hebrew). It has every verse, every word, and every letter that should be there. We must be careful to identify and avoid competing authorities—corrupt modern English versions representing ancient but perverted Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, church tradition, preachers’ opinions, et cetera.

A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. The first (and most important) way a person follows Jesus Christ is by believing what He believes—He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). Faith in this Gospel of Grace alone is how we show God we understand there is absolutely nothing we can do to please Him in our flesh (efforts). Notice, a Christian is not defined as somebody who faithfully attends church services, reads the Bible, prays, does good deeds.

God is not looking for our works (religion). He is looking first and foremost for “faith in Christ Jesus” (today’s Scripture). Faith is an admission that our works are not the issue, but an affirmation that Christ’s finished work at Calvary is the issue! After we trust Jesus Christ as personal Saviour, then we follow Him on a daily basis by reading and trusting what He instructed the Apostle Paul to tell us in the Bible Books of Romans through Philemon.

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Do Galatians 6:2 and Galatians 6:5 contradict each other?”

Powerful Service

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

“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).

Christian friend, is your life functionally dead? Here is the “jumpstart” to restore your spiritual energy!

We all tend to get “burned out” eventually. Actually, some of us take “breaks” for years! For those still going, it may be “low-energy”—just barely getting by. Love for God, His Word, and fellow man has waned to little or nothing. Perhaps, dear friend, you know firsthand how that is a sure way to utter misery!

It is easy to know the Bible, but unless we believe it, God’s indwelling Holy Spirit will not “effectually worketh” in us (today’s Scripture). “Effectually worketh” is the Greek word “energeo,” from which we derive “energy.” A related word is found in the classic verse, Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful [energes]….” When God’s Word is trusted, there results great activity. It was by these spoken words of God that He made the worlds from nothing (Hebrews 11:3)! What high-energy there!

God’s power will work in us when we put God’s Word within us. His Spirit will take His inspired words and work to produce His desired results. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). “Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily” (Colossians 1:29). Paul provided two illustrations. Firstly, Galatians 2:8: “(For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:).” Secondly, Galatians 3:5, “He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”

Dearly beloved, may we take the King James Bible, especially Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon, and believe what we read. That is the key to getting God’s power operating in our lives. There is no need to be “low-energy!”

Bible Q&A #515: “Why could the disciples not cast out the devil in Matthew 17:14-21?”

Dost Thou Keep This Commandment?

Sunday, July 15, 2018

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope” (1 Timothy 1:1 KJV).

Legalistic Christendom constantly stresses “keeping” the “commandments” of God. Despite this alleged “commandment observance” in so many churches, precious few keep the commandment of acknowledging Paul as God’s apostle of us Gentiles. Friend, what about you?

Paul begins nearly every epistle by referring to himself as an “apostle” (Romans 1:1, 1 Corinthians 1:1, 2 Corinthians 1:1, Galatians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; 1 Timothy 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:1; Titus 1:1). He claims to be “an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God” (1 Corinthians 1:1) or “an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” (2 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:1). Today’s Scripture amplifies it—Paul was not chosen to be apostle merely “by” or “through the will of God.” He was ordained as apostle of Jesus Christ “by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ” (today’s Scripture; cf. Romans 16:25,26).

Galatians opens with a special expression: “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)” (1:1). No man invented Paul’s apostleship, and no man appointed him as an apostle. Jesus Christ and Father God personally and directly selected Saul of Tarsus as “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13). Acts 9:15-16: “But the Lord said unto him [Ananias], Go thy way: for he [Saul/Paul] is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

John 13:20: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” Acts chapter 26, Jesus Christ to Paul: “[17] Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, [18] To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” What say you?

333’s 2600th – To See God’s Truth

Friday, July 13, 2018

“Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day” (Psalm 25:4,5 KJV).

Dear friends, if you can believe it, God’s grace has brought us to devotional #2600!

King David, representative of Israel’s Little Flock suffering through the (future even from us) reign of cruel Antichrist, penned today’s Scripture with the hope that the LORD God will deliver Israel “out of all his troubles” (verse 22). There is much confusion, great fear, and unspeakable pain, but the believing Jew continues holding to the Word of God. In those dark, precarious days, Psalm 119:105 is a beacon of hope: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Satan’s policy of evil involves hiding God’s truth from man—both saved and lost. Second Corinthians 4:1-4: “Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” May we be on guard not to be deceived!

During these past 2,600 days, we have hoped and prayed that our daily Bible studies—dispensationally delivered—have been received with grateful and (most importantly) believing hearts. How eternally thankful we should be to have not only had the privilege of meeting here, but also learning here all about God’s purpose and plan for man (us!). We have yet to see the Holy Scriptures as we need to see them. Therefore, we will continue on our journey studying God’s Word “rightly divided” (2 Timothy 2:15). Today’s Scripture should be our cry to Father God. Onward now, by God’s grace, to #2700! 🙂

Our two latest Bible Q&As: “Who are the ‘three shepherds’ of Zechariah 11:8?” and ‎“Who is the wounded man of Zechariah 13:6?”

Convert a Soul, Not the World!

Thursday, July 12, 2018

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come” (2 Timothy 3:1 KJV).

Are we called to convert the world? Nay! We are called to convert souls out of the world!

Recently, a Christian friend and fellow American told me he thinks “we have lost our nation.” My reply to that depressed brother was simple: “We [Christians] have never been called to turn our culture around. It must come to an end at some point anyway. Jesus Christ will straighten it all out at His Second Coming!” He thereby recalled today’s Scripture.

Indeed, brethren, we have never been called to turn around or destroy this evil world system. God’s purpose in the Gospel is to “deliver us from this present evil world” (Galatians 1:4) rather than we fixing it. So many believers are discouraged because they see conditions worsening. Had they known their Bibles, they would not be surprised. God said it would happen!!

Today’s Scripture foretells “perilous” (dangerous) times. God the Holy Spirit continues: “[12] Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. [13] But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse [not better and better!!], deceiving, and being deceived. [14] But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;….” Yes, the world is out of control, but that is to be expected. In the midst of such evil, we should continue in God’s Word rightly divided!

Chapter 4 supplements: “[2] Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. [3] For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; [4] And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. [5] But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”

Again, rather than growing angry at lost people, or becoming overwhelmed by fear and despair, we are to “preach the Word!” We are to convert a soul, not the world! 🙂

Edifying #7

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” (Ephesians 4:11,12 KJV).

What does “edifying” mean here?

According to Romans 16:25-26, God uses a three-fold method to “stablish” us the Church the Body of Christ. Without Paul’s Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), without his epistles (Romans through Philemon), and without the Bible in light of that Pauline revelation, we will not be spiritually stabilized.

Paul ordered Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 1: “[3] As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, [4] Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.” Those teaching “other doctrine” are legalists, law advocates (verses 5-11). They do not embrace God’s grace, fully and freely, but rather mix law and grace, which thereby abolishes grace. They are not “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

Grace is all that God does for us through Christ’s finished crosswork. However, law is our performance to please God. These systems cannot mix; otherwise, confusion and frustration will result. So many professing believers have failed to keep pure grace as their operating system. Consequently, their spiritual lives have been greatly weakened or totally destroyed (cf. 2 Peter 3:15,16). Since they lack a proper view of the Scriptures, they cannot understand those words of God. Non-dispensational Bible study has rendered them impotent. They need to be edified, built up!

“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). “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:20-22). They need to be taught the Scriptures according to Pauline edification! 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Does the Bible contain a contradiction about Solomon’s molten sea?”

Liberated to Serve

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13 KJV).

Today, as we in the United States celebrate the 242nd anniversary of our nation’s independence, we invite our Christian brethren worldwide to rejoice with us concerning our freedom in Jesus Christ.

When we proclaim Romans 6:14—“Ye are not under the law, but under grace”—people tend to assume “loose living.” Does “grace living” really mean we can now live any way we want? Lest anyone be misled in that regard, God the Holy Spirit moved the Apostle Paul to write in the next verse, “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid [May God never let that happen!]” (Romans 6:15). Grace living is not Law-keeping, but it certainly is not Law-breaking either.

God still cares how we live, albeit He is not operating the “weak and beggarly” system of “bondage” (Law) that He once did with Israel (Galatians 4:9). God proved to the entire world that since Israel could not keep His commandments perfectly, no other sons of Adam (the Gentiles) could either: “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them [Israel] who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world [Gentiles] may become guilty before God” (Romans 3:19).

We sinners cannot keep the Law. However, God in His grace provided us a way to escape that condemnation by sending Jesus Christ to offer Himself on Calvary’s cruel cross to pay for our sins. By simple faith in Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as the fully-satisfying payment for our sins, we can now be “made the righteousness of God in [Christ]” (2 Corinthians 5:21). We can be delivered from the penalty of sin (hell and the lake of fire) and the power of sin (flesh-walking).

Why are we Christians free? To selfishly live any way we want? NO! Today’s Scripture says we are liberated to now serve others, especially our Christian brethren, just as Jesus Christ selflessly served His Father and selflessly died on our behalf. That is grace living!!!!

Please see our 2011 Fourth of July Bible study “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land,” which can be watched here or read here.

The Work of the Ministry #7

Sunday, July 1, 2018

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” (Ephesians 4:11,12 KJV).

Ministry—what “work” it is!

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: [purpose or intent] That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16,17). God the Holy Spirit gave us His inspired, preserved Word (in English, the King James Bible) so we would believe it. Once we trust it (1 Thessalonians 2:13), it produces in and through us “all good works.” The greatest Christian good work is “the work of the ministry,” but spiritual development comes first. After all, today’s Scripture says only “perfected saints”—spiritually mature Christians—do “the work of the ministry.”

“And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves” (1 Thessalonians 5:12,13). These church leaders do “the work of the ministry” (cf. today’s Scripture; 1 Timothy 5:17,18), and they need to be especially appreciated.

Ministry is not to be taken lightly or flippantly. It is not “fun and games:” it is “work!” Eternal souls are at stake and they need to hear from us a clear Gospel message they can believe (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)! Otherwise, they will face an angry God and wind up experiencing His eternal fury. Eternal souls are at stake and they need to hear from us a study they can understand (2 Timothy 2:15)! Otherwise, they will experience tremendous loss of reward for their lack of Christian understanding and service.

Dear brethren, how exhausting ministry can be and is, but there is no greater way to spend our time and resources! It seems like we are wasting our time, but God forbid! “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58)! 🙂

Bible Q&A #510: “Can you explain John 1:17?”

The Work of the Ministry #6

Saturday, June 30, 2018

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” (Ephesians 4:11,12 KJV).

Ministry—what “work” it is!

Only one Man in ministry never had any trouble in dealing with the flesh. The God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, faithfully and tirelessly served Father God without fail. He said, “My meat [food] is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (John 4:34). The Lord Jesus knew His purpose. Unlike so many Christians today, He did not aimlessly wander and wonder what Father God would have Him do in His life and ministry. He took the Old Testament Scriptures, found God’s words to and about His earthly ministry, and worked in accordance with them (Luke 4:16-21 cf. Isaiah 61:1-2; Matthew 8:16-17 cf. Isaiah 53:6; Matthew 12:15-21 cf. Isaiah 42:1-4; Mark 12:10-11 cf. Psalm 118:22-23; et al.).

“But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17). “But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me” (verse 36). “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4).

The night before His crucifixion, Christ prayed to the Holy Father: “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me” (John 17:4,6,8). What work did Father God give His Son Jesus Christ? Heavenly Father wanted His Son to give (teach) His Word to His people. Jesus Christ did exactly that, “the work of the ministry!”

Let us summarize and conclude this devotionals arc….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What is ‘shamefacedness?’”