Category: King James Bible Authority

Be Wise, Not Foolish!

Friday, July 7, 2017

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise” (Proverbs 12:15 KJV).

Amen and Amen!

Our world is so busy—there is so much to do and so little time to do it. Our world abounds with instant communication—there is so much to learn about so many things, places, and people. While human society is quite different today than it was when God first placed Adam on the Earth, human nature is still the same as it was in the Garden of Eden. Man still does not want to be bothered with the notion of God; he is “too busy” to hear or read any divine thoughts. He has his modern educational system that supposedly “rescues” him from all the “barbaric,” “primitive,” “simplistic” viewpoints of old. Yet, his nature is still the same—self-centered, self-sufficient, self-willed. Self! Self! Self! Sin! Sin! Sin!

The Bible is God’s “counsel.” It is His advice to us. He took some time to write it so we had better take some time to read it! If we evaluate ourselves using our own standards, we look pretty good. However, when we consider that divine counsel, we realize just how depraved and wayward we actually are. We had better “hearken,” take heed to, that counsel. There is such great disappointment and misery in life for Christians who fail to learn how God the Holy Spirit is working today. There is eternal damnation awaiting those who die apart from the Lord Jesus Christ! Yet, we are all “too busy” being entertained in religion, “too busy” making money to hoard, “too busy” seeking fame, “too busy” learning in educational institutions, “too busy” talking when we should be listening, “too busy” indeed, to worry about anything of spiritual value.

Without delay, friends, let us come by faith in Jesus Christ alone, that “He died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). Without delay, brethren, let us walk according to the grace of God, rather than the law of God (Romans 6:14). Let us “hearken” to the “counsel” of God. Let us be “wise!”

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Why did God get angry with Balaam in Numbers 22:22?”

Liberated to Serve

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

“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 241st 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.

Waiting for His Son from Heaven

Saturday, July 1, 2017

“For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:9,10 KJV).

Friend, have you ever excitedly waited for a loved one to stop by for a visit?

The Bible says that we members of the Church the Body of Christ are “waiting” for a very special Loved One to come and visit us (and He will literally “drop by” at anytime!). While many people—even some professing Christians—are waiting for the Antichrist to appear on earth, today’s Scripture says we as Bible believers are looking for Jesus Christ to appear in heaven. “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ…” (Titus 2:13).

While we are waiting for God’s Son from heaven, we are not sitting around doing nothing. We are praying. We are preaching the Gospel of the Grace of God. We are studying our Bibles. We are passing out tracts and Bible literature. We are teaching Scripture to others. We are working at our secular jobs. We are being upright spouses, parents, and children. Before we leave though, others must come with us. That grace of God on display in our lives entices them to join us in that heavenly abode that awaits all those who have placed their faith in Christ alone.

Brethren, we need to be about Father God’s business. If we are to truly experience the Christian life as He intended, we must be learning and doing that which fits Pauline doctrine. We are serving “the living and true God,” not some dead idol of wood or stone. What we do for Him will matter; it will not be overlooked in eternity future. If we really honored and valued Him, we would get into His Word, get His Word into us, get off our behinds, and let that Word work in us because we believe it! We are indeed waiting… but we are working too! 🙂

Bible Q&A #395: “Should we use Bibles on electronic devices?”

Instructing Those That Oppose Themselves

Friday, June 30, 2017

“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26 KJV).

How do we combat Bible ignorance? We “in meekness instruct those that oppose themselves!”

We all begin life as physical babies but we do not remain in that state. Eventually, we grow up and become adults. Rather than depending on others all our life, we increasingly do for ourselves. Just as we move on in our experience in life, so we become better aware of what is going on and what is expected of us. It is abnormal for us not to make such progress. We all grow at different rates, but we still grow. For an adult to think and behave like a small child is most tragic, and sadly, most churches today are nothing but spiritual nurseries. Spiritual immaturity is not a sin. Prolonged spiritual immaturity is!

Colossians 2:7 says of the Christian life: “Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” The Lord Jesus Christ is the source of the Christian life. We are edified in Him. We should be “stablished [stabilized] in the faith:” that is, we are spiritually steadied, not “children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness…” (Ephesians 4:14). The key is to be “taught” sound Bible doctrine—and there is rarely any teaching going on in Christian assemblies today. Most of the focus is on music, dancing, singing, liturgy, ceremonies, and prayers!

Friends, so many Christians are living contrary to who God has made them in His Son, Jesus Christ. In humility, gentleness, we must use the Word of God rightly divided to warn them, to teach them, to tell them how to come to the knowledge of the truth and escape the snare of the Devil! We must “instruct those that oppose themselves!”

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Should I preach the same Bible messages I have preached before?”

Who is Our Apostle? #5

Thursday, June 29, 2017

“For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:” (Romans 11:13 KJV).

Behold, the verse that most have never noticed in the Bible!

The Lord Jesus told the Apostle Paul at his salvation in Acts chapter 9: “[17] Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send [apostello] 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” (Acts 26:17,18).

First Timothy 2:5-7 adds: “[5] For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; [6] Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. [7] Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not; ) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.” (Notice how Christ dying for “all” was the special message first declared in Scripture by Paul.)

The Bible is called “the sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17). A sword is a powerful weapon that you can use to defend yourself—provided, of course, you have been trained to use it properly. Likewise, God’s Word can guard you from Satan’s attacks—provided that you know to “study… rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). You can do great damage to yourself and others if you do not use God’s Word, God’s way.

When we fail to realize that the Apostle Paul is God’s spokesman to us, and we start trying to claim everything in Scripture as to and about us, we will not understand what God is doing today and what He wants us to do today. We cannot go into time past and force its elements on to us (Christ’s earthly ministry, the Law of Moses, Sabbath day, physical circumcision, tithing, material blessings, water baptism, healing miracles, confession of sins, and so on). Whatever came by special revelation from Jesus Christ through the Apostle Paul to us Gentiles, we find in the Books of Romans through Philemon. Let us search them to find God’s words to and about us! 🙂

Who is Our Apostle? #3

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

“For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:” (Romans 11:13 KJV).

Behold, the verse that most have never noticed in the Bible!

The objection can be heard. How can Paul claim to be “the apostle of the Gentiles?” Were not the 12 sent to all nations (Gentiles)? What about what Jesus told the 12 Apostles in Matthew 28:19-20? “[19] Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Indeed, but this is to be understood in light of Jesus’ words in Luke 24:46-48 and Acts 1:8.

Luke 24:46-48: “[46] And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: [47] And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. [48] And ye are witnesses of these things.” And, the companion verse, Acts 1:8: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The 12 Apostles were not to preach to “all nations” until they preached to all of Israel first! National, converted Israel would then evangelize “all nations.”

Scripture is clear that the 12 Apostles conducted a ministry with Israel at the forefront of God’s dealings with man. However, as we will see, Paul’s apostleship involved the fall of Israel, she no longer being at the head of God’s program for mankind. That is, rather than the 12 Apostles converting all of Israel and then all of Israel reaching the Gentiles, Paul was reaching the Gentiles without nationally-converted Israel. Hence, Paul’s apostleship should in no way be confused with the 12 Apostles’ ministry, and neither should it be seen an extension of it….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “How did King Saul die?”

Who is Our Apostle? #2

Monday, June 26, 2017

“For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:” (Romans 11:13 KJV).

Behold, the verse that most have never noticed in the Bible!

Friend, I will be very frank with you. If you are going to adopt the position of “every promise in the Bible is mine,” you have set yourself up for—literally—your worst nightmare. You will stumble over one Bible contradiction after another. You doubt this? Just look around at the professing church—all that spiritual confusion and impotence is because they embraced the “everything-in-the-Bible-is-mine” philosophy! Do you still want to follow through with it?

Consider this partial listing of Bible contradictions people often gripe about. Those in Matthew 5:18-19 are commanded to teach the law; Romans 6:14-15 says we are not under the law but under grace. Mark 16:16 teaches water baptism is necessary for salvation; Romans 3:28 says faith in Jesus alone, without works, is enough for salvation. Exodus 20:8-11 demands Sabbath-day observance; Colossians 2:16 says the Sabbath day is unimportant.

Genesis 17:9-14 teaches physical circumcision is necessary in having a relationship with God; Galatians 5:6 and Galatians 6:15 say God does not care about physical circumcision and physical uncircumcision. James 5:14-15 guarantees physical healing after the anointing of oil; there was neither physical healing nor anointing of oil for ill Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23 or sick Trophimus in 2 Timothy 4:20. While this list could be expanded, there is enough here to see the “all-the-promises-in-the-Book-are-mine” mentality is utter preposterousness. There are mutually exclusive promises!

Friend, do you really want to claim all the verses in the Bible as applicable to you? If you persist, you go right ahead—no one will stop you. Still, you should be further warned that, you will eventually find yourself fallen into unbelief, waffling between “yes” and “no” on dozens of Bible issues. In fact, you give it long enough and you will throw away the Bible in exasperation! Innumerable church members have already done so, and while I urge you not to do it, you have free will and you must make a choice. You can either believe today’s Scripture, or disbelieve it….

Lingering Lot

Saturday, June 24, 2017

“And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city” (Genesis 19:15,16 KJV).

In “lingering Lot,” we see many a Christian today!

Nephew to Abraham, Lot was a very compromising believer. While the world’s sins bothered him (2 Peter 2:6-9), he did not mind dabbling in them himself. For example, Lot “sat in the gate of Sodom” (Genesis 19:1): he was an important statesman in that most wicked city, enjoying high social standing and great wealth. Once God had enough of the homosexuality in Sodom and Gomorrah, He sent two angels to destroy them (see Genesis 18:16-22; Genesis 19:1ff.).

God also sent those angels to deliver Lot and his family before His righteous wrath falls upon Sodom and Gomorrah. In today’s Scripture, the angels urge Lot to hurry and take his wife and two daughters and escape. Three words stand out: “and while he lingered….” Lot wanted to stay just a bit longer, to take one last look at all his possessions he had acquired while officiating over Sodom. His beautiful home and its furnishings would be destroyed. His sinful acquaintances would be killed. (Notice how his wife “looked back behind him” once they did leave in verse 26, and she “became a pillar of salt!” She too had been attached to the material goods she and Lot had.)

Lot should have led his family out of such wickedness, yet he “lingered.” The angels had to thus forcefully grab all four of them (he, his wife, and their two daughters) and bring them outside the city! JEHOVAH God could have consumed Lot for being so wicked, so idolatrous, and yet He was “merciful unto him.” No doubt, many such saints will want to “linger” at the Rapture, when Christ returns to take all Christians to Heaven, desiring to stay behind and enjoy this evil world one last time. May we not be those “lingering” believers!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What does the Bible say about blood transfusions?”

Darkened Counsel

Friday, June 23, 2017

“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?” (Job 38:1,2 KJV).

Can we hear God’s question echoing today?

Many years ago, a friend in the ministry was preaching at his church when a man showed up carrying several books under his arm. The man lied down on the floor and spread several books before him. After the service, my friend approached the man to learn that he had actually brought 10 different Bible translations to read. He would flip through each one! As my pastor friend began to talk to this man, he learned that the man did not actually believe any of those books… and why should he, seeing as to they all read differently?!

Modern Bible publishers have devised various clever sales pitches to advertise their products. They talk about the “up-to-date scholarship,” the thorough system of references, the nice leather cover, the online resources, the wide margins and/or large print, the “easy-to-read” wording, and so on. Yet, they will not tell you that they are actually introducing more confusion in the minds of people concerning the Bible. Why have dozens upon dozens of Bible versions? Is it really to make the Bible clearer? Certainly not, for the diversity of versions and readings make the Bible less clear. The point is, people want to produce their own sectarian or denominational handbook, and if they can change the derivative work enough, they can secure a copyright and start “cashing in” on God’s Word!

While there are many sincere, unsuspecting people in the Bible versions debate, we must also be mindful that many in the leadership know exactly what they are doing. They are not excused from their spiritual wickedness; their polluting lost and saved souls alike is not to be, and will not be, overlooked. Just as JEHOVAH God rebuked Job for rattling on and on about spiritual things he knew nothing about, so God condemns the religious leaders who make His Word harder to understand. They need to hush and study the Bible, gaining knowledge, before they start attempting to teach it to others!

Bereans

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

“And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:10,11 KJV).

“Bereans.” Have you ever heard of this title, friend? If you have been around Bible-believing circles, of course you have. It comes right out of today’s Scripture. What Christian meaning does it carry?

After unbelieving Jews traveled to Thessalonica (northern Greece) to harass Paul and his ministry coworkers, the Christian brethren were forced to secretly send Paul and Silas by night. Paul and Silas arrived in nearby Berea, again entering the synagogue to preach to lost Jews. The wicked, unbelieving Jews heard of Paul’s entrance into Berea, so they traveled there to bother him again; the saints in Berea had to sneak Paul and his companions away once again, lest they be injured or killed.

Verses 12-14 follow today’s Scripture: “Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people. And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.”

Friends, the title “Berean” will be forever preserved in the Word of God as indicative of someone who “received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (today’s Scripture). These Jews had copies of the writings of Moses and the Prophets (cf. Acts 13:15; Acts 15:21), and they appealed to that inspired record to verify if Paul and his companions were really preaching the truth. (There were no “New Testament” Scriptures as of yet, remember.) They did not simply sit in the pew and mindlessly shout “Amen!” to whatever they heard the preacher say! As they eagerly heard the Apostles preach, they took the Word of God and studied it, using it to determine the quality of the message spoken. May we follow suit, beloved!