Category: King James Bible Authority

That Which is Perfect is Come

Friday, September 9, 2011

“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” (1 Corinthians 13:9,10 KJV).

The context of today’s Scripture is spiritual gifts. In verse 8, the Bible says: “Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” According to this verse and today’s Scripture, the spiritual gifts of prophecy, tongues, and knowledge (Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28-31) will vanish “when that which is perfect is come.” What is “that which is perfect?”

Attempting to insert their warped theology into Scripture, certain individuals (especially “charismatics”) insist that “that which is perfect is come” refers to Christ’s Second Coming. Hence, they make the Bible say that the spiritual gifts are still operating today. However, we notice the wording of the King James: “THAT which is perfect.” Jesus Christ is a “he,” not a “that.” So, in a last-ditch effort to defend their heresy, these individuals retreat to a (corrupt) modern Bible that reads (NIV): “when perfection comes….” How dishonest!

Today’s Scripture concerns partial knowledge and partial wisdom. The context makes no reference to Christ’s Second Coming. The answer to partial knowledge is complete knowledge; complete wisdom does away with partial wisdom (see 1 Corinthians 13:11-13).

During Paul’s time, the Bible’s canon was incomplete. Paul wrote: “I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 12:1). God had not revealed all of His Word yet. When the completed (“perfect”) Bible came nearly 2,000 years ago, so did complete wisdom and knowledge. Accordingly, spiritual gifts—the partial wisdom and knowledge—were done away.

Today, spiritual gifts are unnecessary, for we have the full revelation of God in the form of the Holy Bible (King James Bible). In 2 Timothy 3:16,17, we read: “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.”

333’s 100th: Be Ye Transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind

Thursday, September 8, 2011

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1,2 KJV).

The Bible is “the mind of Christ” in printed form (1 Corinthians 2:16). God does not want you as a Christian to be conformed to the world’s profligate example. He wants to take His Word and renew your mind so that you will think like He does, and then your life will reflect the “good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” The key to the Christian life is not obeying a list of rules, but rather placing your faith in sound doctrine so that sound doctrine can transform you from the inside out for God’s glory!

Galatians 2:20 says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me….” “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Christ lives His life in and through us: we do not live the Christian life because we cannot live the Christian life.

As we Christians study and believe the Holy Scriptures “rightly divided,” using dispensational Bible study, the indwelling Holy Ghost will utilize that sound doctrine to transform us. The more sound doctrine we store in our inner man, the more material the Holy Ghost will use inside of us to spiritually mature us. “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).

Spiritual growth requires a daily study of God’s Word rightly divided, and our minds need to be cleansed daily by God’s Word, as taught in Ephesians 5:26, and daily devotionals fulfill both. The Scriptures we discuss daily will make a difference in your life and the lives of those around you if you will study them and, most importantly, if you believe them.

[*Beloved, we rejoice in the Lord that this is our 100th devotional. We trust that these devotionals, despite their brevity, have been a great help and blessing to your inner man, and that they have contributed to your spiritual growth and enlightenment, as they have to ours. It thrills our hearts to prepare these devotionals and hear of the wonderful work that God is accomplishing with them. It is our great hope and prayer to continue this project for many years to come, Lord willing. Thank you for your continued prayer regarding this ministry endeavor.  –in Christ, Shawn Brasseaux]

A Wise Man

Saturday, September 3, 2011

“A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool” (Proverbs 17:10 KJV).

Lawlessness abounds today. The lost world around us is quite foolish in that they hate God and vehemently refuse His Word. God’s Word contains instruction, and yet they blatantly reject it. Not surprisingly, they blame God when their lives are wrecked and destroyed.

Proverbs 1:5-7 says: “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: to understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Today’s Scripture declares that a wise man will hearken unto reproof (instruction, advice). The reproof will be more effectual in the life of the wise man than 100 whippings will be in correcting the fool. A fool can be instructed time and time again, and he can be harshly punished, but he will still be set in his rebellious ways. This is typical human nature: “I refuse to obey any authority, especially God!”

We can all be so stubborn at times that even God Almighty giving us a kick in the seat of the pants would probably not help. Throughout the Old Testament God would chastise wicked Israel by cursing her and her daily activities. Her crops would not grow, and sickness and death would vex her people. In the book of Judges, Israel would suddenly behave, enjoy a brief respite and God’s blessings, and then she would quickly return to her rebellious ways and suffer more punishment.

Do you want to be a wise man (or woman)? Take a King James Bible and study it God’s way, “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), using dispensational Bible study. Believe what that Bible says where it says it and to whom it says it, let that Word work effectually in you, and then you will be a wise man (or woman) indeed!

The Future Generations

Thursday, September 1, 2011

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6 KJV).

The greatest gift a parent could ever give his or her child is a firm foundation in God’s Word, the rightly divided King James Bible. God, knowing this, put today’s Scripture in His Word.

In Deuteronomy chapter 5, Moses taught God’s Law (the Old Covenant) to Israel. The LORD commanded the Jews to daily meditate on His Word, memorize it, and write it everywhere in their homes (Deuteronomy 6:8,9). In addition, they were to educate their children in God’s Word (verses 6,7): “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

Parents, not preachers and teachers, should be the primary instructors of their children. God has given the father-husband the role of teaching the children (his wife helping him, of course). In Ephesians 6:4, Paul writes: “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Bishops and deacons were to have godly children instructed in God’s Word (1 Timothy 3:4,5,12).

Comparing 2 Timothy 1:5,6 with 2 Timothy 3:15, we learn that Timothy’s mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois taught him the Old Testament Scriptures… and just where was his father?!

The local church should then build on the foundation that the parents stored in their children. Older men in the church served as role models for the younger men in the church, and older women served as role models for the younger women in the church (Titus 2:1-8).

One day, if the Lord tarries, our generations will pass, and new ones will take over. As adults, we owe it to the future generations to teach and preach God’s Word now, while we still can. Those future generations need a firm foundation in God’s Word so they can pass it on to their future generations.

Babes in Christ

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:1 KJV).

The Apostle Paul stated six times he did not want “ignorant” Christians (Romans 1:13; Romans 11:25; 1 Corinthians 10:1; 1 Corinthians 12:1; 2 Corinthians 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:13). “Ignorant” describes people who are uninformed (or misinformed), not people who are stupid.

Most professing Christians today are ignorant of the Bible because they seldom hear God’s Word properly taught, if at all. Sadly, many churchgoers attend “church services” that resemble circuses! Preachers usually rattle on and on about worthless topics. Rituals are performed with impeccability, and yet they are nothing but vain, faithless activities. Sadly, many people attend church to feel “religious,” to be entertained with “Christian” rock and rap music, to socialize, or just to shake the preacher’s hand.

In today’s Scripture, we gather that the Corinthians were spiritually immature. They loved emotional highs and supernatural experiences, yet the Corinthian assembly was plagued with fornication, lawsuits, and drunkenness. There was almost no spirituality within the Corinthian church, and yet, the same applies to “the Church” today!

Corinth had great apostles and teachers, particularly Paul and Apollos. Yet, whatever sound doctrine the Corinthians heard, they never placed their faith in that sound doctrine. However, “the Church” today is not as fortunate as the Corinthians. Today, many church members do not even hear sound doctrine in the first place.

To avoid the Corinthians’ pitiful spiritual state, and the shameful spiritual state of today’s Christendom, we need to study the Holy Scriptures “rightly divided” and believe them! After all, “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 [spiritually mature], throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16,17).

The only way to reach spiritual maturity is to study God’s Word “rightly divided,” apart from denominational eyeglasses, and then place our faith in God’s Word. Otherwise, we too will be “babes in Christ.”

Do You Really Need an Easy-to-Read Bible?

Monday, August 22, 2011

“All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge” (Proverbs 8:8,9 KJV).

The most frequent complaint raised against the King James Bible is that it is “hard to read.” Modern Bible publishers, seeing opportunity to make some quick cash, pass off their products as “easy-to-read revisions” of our Authorized Version. Sadly, the masses have accepted that lie.

Honestly, my research these past few years shows that modern Bibles tend to read harder than the King James Bible. The King James’ simple Anglo-Saxon words have been replaced with harder, multi-syllable Latinized words (for instance, “provoke” is now “exasperate,” “schoolmaster” has become “disciplinarian,” and “swelling” now reads “bombastic”).

According to the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Formula, used here in the United States to gauge the grade level of reading material, English Bibles read at these grade levels:

  • King James Bible (KJV): 5.8
  • New International Version (NIV): 8.4
  • New American Standard Version (NASV): 6.1
  • Today’s English Version / “Good” News Bible (TEV/GNB): 7.2
  • New King James Version (NKJV): 6.9
    (Source: Gail Riplinger’s New Age Bible Versions, 1993, p. 196)

Will the modern Bible publishers ever use this information when marketing their Bibles? Obviously not, for modern Bibles would never sale! Consumers would observe that modern Bibles read harder, contrary to their claim of being “easier-to-read.”

We always hear of “easy-to-read” English Bibles. Interestingly, we never hear of “easy-to-read” Greek Bibles, Hebrew Bibles, or Latin Bibles. Why? English Bibles make more money because English is most commonly spoken and read!

“Easy-to-read” English Bibles is Satan trying to discredit the King James Bible. If children have understood and memorized the King James Bible for 400 years now, then why do modern-day “educated” theologians decry the King James Bible for its difficult reading? That is silly to the utmost.

Get the indwelling Holy Spirit by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, study the King James Bible, and then you will see it is not as difficult as most would have you to believe.

Be of the Same Mind in the Lord

Sunday, August 21, 2011

“I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord” (Philippians 4:2 KJV).

In today’s Scripture, the Apostle Paul mentions two Christian women, Euodias and Syntyche, in opposition to one another. We know not the nature of that disagreement, but it was disruptive in the Philippian church, so Paul addressed the matter and begged them to resolve it.

There should be unity within the Church the Body of Christ, but there is very little because human viewpoint and religious tradition divide. Unfortunately, even among some “grace brethren,” we find “strange doctrines” that generate arguments. We should make every attempt to get along with our Christian brethren, but we should never, ever seek unity at the expense of sound doctrine. There should be no disagreement in the Body of Christ regarding matters clearly taught in the King James Bible.

The Corinthian church was noteworthy for its divisions (“denominations!”). Some Corinthians followed Christ according to His earthly ministry, others followed Peter, some followed Apollos, and still others followed Paul (1 Corinthians 1:10-13). Paul wrote, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (verse 10). How were they to avoid these divisions? They were to follow Paul as he followed Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).

The Bible says (Galatians 5:15,16): “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Arguments can get rather nasty amongst Christians (spiritually “biting and devouring” each other). As long as we “walk in the Spirit,” allowing God’s Holy Spirit to teach us to follow the doctrine in Paul’s epistles, we will believe what the King James Bible says where it says what it says, and not argue with God. This is the unity that God desires the Body of Christ to have.

Every Word of God

Thursday, August 11, 2011

“And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” (Luke 4:4 KJV).

The prevailing argument in seminaries and Bible colleges is that God’s thoughts, not His very words, are important. Accordingly, many modern Bibles translate using dynamic equivalence: the translator is bound to convey the overall thought of the verse/passage, but he or she may add words to or remove words from the Bible text!! In the Bible we learn that God is interested in preserving His actual words, not just His thoughts.

The Bible says (Deuteronomy 8:3): “…man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”  Our Lord Jesus Christ quoted this verse in Matthew 4:4 (and also today’s Scripture): “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

Jesus Christ said: “…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). He also said (Matthew 24:35): “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (cf. Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33).

Moses declared to Israel: “These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them” (Exodus 35:1). Joshua 24:26 says, “And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God….” The LORD commanded Israel to memorize and teach their children His “words” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).

Proverbs 30:5 says: “Every word of God is pure….” We read in Psalm 12:6,7: “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” God promised to preserve His pure words forever.

Man lives by “every word of God.” We have “every word of God” preserved in the King James Bible, not in the inferior, depraved modern Bibles.

The Prospering Word of God

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is my favorite Bible verse. In verse 10, God speaks of rain and snow falling from heaven and watering the earth so that vegetation sprouts forth. Just as God designed precipitation to regulate plant growth, God intended His Word to produce spiritual growth. We are sure that no matter how defensive or resistant someone is to hearing God’s Word, the King James Bible has the power to overcome Satan’s opposition and that most hardened heart.

Notice these references to God’s Word prospering during the first half of the first century A.D.:

  • Acts 6:7: “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.”
  • Acts 8:14: “Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:”
  • Acts 11:1: “And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.”
  • Acts 12:24: “But the word of God grew and multiplied.”
  • Acts 13:44: “And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.”
  • Acts 19:20: “So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.”

Paul wrote: “…The word of the truth of the gospel; which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth much fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:” (Colossians 1:5,6). Let us never be discouraged when people reject us sharing the Bible with them. God’s Word will take care of itself… it always has, and always will… prosper!

“God that giveth the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:7).

Autographs and Apographs

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written…” (Luke 4:16,17 KJV).

The original Bible manuscripts written by the prophets and apostles are non-extant today. Either by means of disintegration or intentional destruction, those autographs have disappeared. Today, there are 5,500-plus manuscript copies of those Greek New Testament autographs. Alas, theologians relegate these copies to an inferior position to the originals. Do manuscript copies (apographs) possess the same authority as the original manuscripts (autographs)?

In today’s Scripture, the Lord Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah. Did Christ read from the original, 700-year-old document that Isaiah penned? In Acts 8:26-35 both Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch also read the scroll of Isaiah. Should we conclude that Christ and the Ethiopian eunuch shared the lone scroll of Isaiah? Preposterous! Both were manuscript copies.

Did Timothy’s family possess the original Old Testament Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15-17)? Was Paul quoting from the original manuscripts of Isaiah and Hosea (Romans 9:25-29)?

Note that whenever Israel’s king would assume the throne, God instructed: “He shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:… and he shall read therein all the days of his life…” (Deuteronomy 17:18-20). God instructed the king to study his copies, not the original manuscripts.

Psalm 12:6,7, Psalm 33:11, Matthew 24:35, and Mark 13:31 are but a few examples of God’s promise: “My words shall not pass away.” The Bible says that God has preserved His words. Undoubtedly, immediately after an autograph was completed, it was copied and distributed. Although the autographs and their first copies have disintegrated, their text is preserved today in subsequent apographs.

The original manuscripts have been gone for centuries. God’s words must exist today in manuscript copies. The autographs and apographs are equal.