Category: sound doctrine

A Doxology of Doctrine During Distressing Days #1

Monday, April 1, 2013

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” (2 Corinthians 4:17 KJV).

A brief, light annoyance—an everlasting, much heavier weight of praise and worship….

While sitting here in a local hospital, Dad just recuperating from a total knee replacement surgery, I thought on today’s Scripture. Surrounded by all these sick, suffering, and dying people, it is nice to have God’s peace.

Christians and lost people alike suffer because of sin’s curse, the “bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21). We live in a fallen world, an environment completely removed from the original perfect creation of Genesis chapters 1 and 2. Earth’s biosphere is plagued by infirmities and, the greatest disease of all, death. These realities prompt the common inquiry, “IF there is a loving God, why does He not do something about suffering?” This oft-posed query has already been answered… by the book of that “loving God.”

Today’s Scripture greatly comforts us who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour. Our suffering in this life is “but for a moment.” It is not everlasting! Being members of the Body of Christ does not guarantee we will not suffer; however, it does guarantee us that our suffering is temporary.

As Christians, we can enjoy God’s grace, which strengthens and consoles us. Our troubles are not removed, but our Lord comforts us so those circumstances do not destroy us. The verse following today’s Scripture elaborates: “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (verse 18).

The “things that are seen” are our current circumstances—the temporary troubles. The “things that are not seen” are the spiritual fortitude God gives us and the praise we give Him—the everlasting weight of glory. As we walk by faith in these simple yet profound truths, our God strengthens and encourages us, and gives us peace. Yes, despite our suffering, there is a loving God, and He is there with us in those circumstances.

Messiah’s Joy Amidst Calvary’s Grief #2

Saturday, March 30, 2013

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2 KJV).

Do you ever wonder what our Lord Jesus Christ was thinking about while He hung there on Calvary’s cross?

Jesus knew Bible prophecy had to be fulfilled: He had to suffer in accordance with the Old Testament prophets. Even when He spoke seven times from the cross, He quoted various Old Testament verses. The Old Testament prophets also gave Him comfort: “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross” (today’s Scripture).

For instance, He remembered that Jonah’s prophecy had to be fulfilled: “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). On the third day, He would live again, and be reunited with His heavenly Father!

He knew that His Father would resurrect Him. His spiritual torment and physical death were only temporarily, as David quoted Jesus 1000 B.C., “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” (Psalm 16:10; cf. Acts 2:24-31).

Our Lord thought of reigning over that glorious kingdom that His Heavenly Father would give Him after His resurrection. As the psalmist wrote centuries before Calvary’s crosswork, “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession” (Psalm 2:6-8). “Begotten” refers to Jesus’ resurrection, not His nativity in Bethlehem (Acts 13:33,34).

Jesus Christ, during His torturous crucifixion, thought about and rejoiced in the promises in the Scriptures that applied to Him. Likewise, we, during difficult circumstances, can remember and joy in God’s promises to us—Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon.

We too can share Messiah’s joy amidst grief! 🙂

 

An Heretick Reject

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

“But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself” (Titus 3:9-11 KJV).

Beloved, never forgot that the greatest damage ever inflicted upon the Church the Body of Christ is not perpetrated by atheists or Bible skeptics—it is by people who claim to believe the Bible, who claim to follow Jesus Christ!

I read a recent, disturbing column in a national newspaper in which a prominent evangelical leader complained that some of his fellow evangelicals had rebuked him for urging other Protestants to join him in ecumenism (that is, compromising his “Protestant” doctrines in order to be more acceptable to the Roman Catholics, thereby hoping to partner with them regarding the threats of social issues such as homosexuality, Islamism, abortion, and relativism). What is appalling is that this leader called his critics “uncharitable:” pathetically, he considered them “unloving” because they recognized and chided a Bible compromiser when they heard one!

False teaching outside the Body of Christ is bad enough, but Satan furthers his plan the most by using false teaching within local churches (Acts 20:28-31; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; 2 Peter 2:1-3). All of the “Christian” “celebrities” leading our churches today are leading more people away from Jesus Christ than the strip clubs, science classrooms, pubs, casinos, and abortion clinics—all put together! “Hollywood-style” “Christianity” is just as damnable as no Bible whatsoever, if not worse because of the hypocrisy and subtlety.

Our Creator God has given every person free will. If one wants to ignore the Holy Scriptures, he or she can. However, as people who have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, we should (hopefully…?) want to believe and obey the King James Bible. We cannot and should not fellowship with those who reject the King James Bible; reject Paul’s apostleship; and reject Jesus Christ crucified, buried, and risen again for our justification. On these three points we must agree, or we are just as deceived as the lost people who do not even have God’s Word!

The Spirit of God and the Word of God #8

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:13 KJV).

As today’s Scripture demonstrates, the Spirit of God never operates apart from the Word of God.

Acts 2:4 summarizes the Holy Spirit’s relation to God’s Word: “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” The Holy Spirit guided the words of God’s holy apostles and prophets. He not only selected the words they spoke (cf. Matthew 10:19,20, which describes believing Jews in the future Tribulation), but that which they wrote (2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:20,21).

Not only did the Holy Spirit speak God’s Word before it was written, He also caused it to be written (inspiration). He not only caused it to be written, but He also preserved those very words so we could read them today (preservation). Not only did He preserve them, He translated them into the world’s languages (translation). Not only did He translate them, He also gives us the ability to understand those words of God when we study them (illumination).

To the person who has not trusted Jesus Christ alone as his or her personal Saviour, the Bible is “foolishness” (1 Corinthians 2:14). If we want to understand the Holy Bible, we need its Author, the Holy Spirit, and He is present within us who have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour.

Without the Holy Spirit, we would neither have nor understand the Holy Bible. Before the written, completed Bible, the Holy Ghost worked via believers with spiritual gifts, to proclaim the Word of God. In due time, the Holy Ghost caused God’s apostles and prophets to write the 66 inspired books of the Bible, the completed revelation of God. Throughout the centuries, the Holy Spirit worked through believers to copy, collate, and translate that written Bible so we could have it today, nearly 2,000 years after its canon was completed.

Dear reader, for this cause, may you never take your King James Bible for granted again! 🙂

*These previous eight devotionals are adapted from two large Bible studies, The Pneuma Hagion, and The Holy Spirit – Person or Force? You are encouraged to read them.

The Spirit of God and the Word of God #7

Monday, March 25, 2013

“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:13 KJV).

As today’s Scripture demonstrates, the Spirit of God never operates apart from the Word of God.

Without the Holy Spirit, we would not understand the completed Holy Bible.

The doctrine of Bible preservation is best described by Jesus Christ in Matthew 24:35: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (cf. Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33). God the Holy Spirit not only wrote God’s words, He also preserved them so we could have them today, and He illuminates our minds so we can understand them today.

According to today’s Scripture and its context, the Holy Spirit uses the Holy Bible’s words to teach us, “that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God” (verse 12). Everything that God wants us to know, He tells us in the Holy Bible, that we may be “throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:17). The Holy Spirit takes those Bible verses we read and believe, and works in our souls to bring into our lives the reality of those doctrines. He takes the sound Bible doctrine He has inspired and preserved, the doctrine we read and believe, and He makes our lives the very life of Jesus Christ, the life the Bible describes!

This “filling with the Spirit” in Israel’s program empowered her regarding God’s will for her in her program (Acts 2:4; Acts 7:55). Likewise, God the Holy Spirit teaches us His will for us the Church the Body of Christ in our program. He enables us to do His will when we read and believe sound Pauline Bible doctrine (see Ephesians 5:18–6:9)—not to be confused with emotional highs, incontinence, gibberish, nonsense, or the other errors of denominationalism. When we prevent the indwelling Holy Spirit from using sound Bible doctrine to transform our inner man, we “quench [hinder] the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

In both Israel’s prophetic program and our mystery program, the Holy Spirit works using His Word, to publish His Word….

Let the LORD’s Saints Bless Him

Monday, March 18, 2013

“All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee” (Psalm 145:10 KJV).

Saints, bless the LORD!

Today’s Scripture is an excerpt from King David’s “psalm of praise.” The LORD had certainly been good to David: He had brought him countless military victories, He had appointed him as king over Israel, and He had guaranteed him that his royal bloodline would last forever (through Jesus Christ).

David certainly witnessed countless miraculous demonstrations of JEHOVAH. A poor, lowly shepherd boy from Bethlehem, turned out to be the most famous king of Israel, and one of the most well-known Bible characters—a miracle of the LORD in and of itself!

We members of the Church the Body of Christ can relate to David and the other ancient Jewish believers. We can join them in “blessing” (praising) the LORD. Just as God did wonderful things for them, He has done equally magnificent things for us. In fact, we are one of those magnificent works of the LORD!

Firstly, God Almighty has given us breath, for without it, we would not have physical life: “[He] neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). Secondly, when we trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, God Almighty made us “new creatures in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17): He has also given us spiritual life! That life is to produce fruit: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

Dear saints, remember, praising our Lord does not merely involve our lips, but our lifestyles too! When we walk by faith in the sound Pauline doctrine found in God’s Word, we are worshipping Jesus Christ, for that doctrine is His life. The Holy Spirit uses that doctrine to manifest that life in and through us. Let us praise the Lord that He would even let us—His former enemies—participate in accomplishing His marvelous will. Let us bless the Lord, not only with our lips, but with our lives! 🙂

A Papal Prophecy? #13

Tuesday, March 12, 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?”

This is (deliberately) the thirteenth and final study of this devotional arc: the number 13 in Scripture symbolizes rebellion (Genesis 14:4), and the antichrist is the epitome of Satan’s evil policy aimed at rebelling against God.

In these past one-dozen studies, we have studied the Holy Scriptures to briefly introduce the antichrist. You should have a better understanding of who he is and what role he plays in God’s dealings with mankind, particularly with Israel.

We leave you with some final thoughts.

  • Scripture never provides any dates or time frames for God’s dealings with us in the Dispensation of Grace. Contrariwise, the Bible does provide time frames for Israel’s program: regarding prophecy, the seven-year Tribulation is the concluding “week” (seven-year period) of a larger 490-year (70-week) period of time God deals with the nation Israel (Daniel 9:24-27). This further proves we, the Church the Body of Christ, cannot and will not experience the seven-year Tribulation.
  • This world is certainly preparing for the antichrist via false teaching, ecumenism (once-antagonistic denominations uniting), religious pluralism (uniting world religions), and increased technology and mass communication. However, the scriptural record is silent about papal resignations: Benedict XVI’s resignation is not Bible prophecy. Nevertheless, it does expose the dire condition—the scandals, perplexity, and desperation—of professing Christianity.
  • The rapture will occur at any time, so we cannot and should not set dates. However, you need to be ready for it! Jesus Christ died for your sins, He was buried, and He was raised again the third day to give you His life when you trust Him alone as your personal Saviour. Trust Him alone today, and in due time, you will be raptured out with the rest of the Church the Body of Christ, before the awful seven-year Tribulation begins, and before the antichrist is revealed.

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….

An Open Mind and an Open Bible

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

“The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going” (Proverbs 14:15 KJV).

Indeed, have an open mind… but have an open Bible too!

Not long ago, I attended a professional scientific presentation that involved a recent environmental issue—the 2010 Gulf of Mexico BP oil spill—and the news media distorting scientific information for the sake of sensationalizing. Newspapers and television newscasts hyped up the public, and their biased reporting caused an already scientific-illiterate public to become even more uninformed. They shied away from reality, choosing rather to focus on “worst-case scenarios.” As the news industry knows, sensational reporting sales more magazines, newspapers, and television programs.

The lecturer did a great job explaining the issue and the media’s intentional distortion of facts. However, he did not have spiritual eyes: he failed to understand that the media does not only deceive the public concerning scientific news, but also regarding political, economic, social, and more importantly, spiritual news.

Beloved, remember, the mainstream media is just as much an element of Satan’s policy of evil as the religious, economic, educational, and social systems. They are all anti-God and anti-Bible, for Satan is “the god [ruler] of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). This arrangement and the time period it dominates is “the course of this world” (Ephesians 2:2): the deceptive, anti-God system that has ruled the world ever since man’s fall in Genesis chapter 3, will continue until Christ’s Second Coming.

Today’s Scripture says, “The simple believeth every word.” The word “simple” here means “silly, seducible, foolish”—one who is naïve, unwise, who believes anything and everything he or she reads or hears. This is contrasted with the “the prudent man” who “looketh well to his going.” Being “prudent”—acting with the future in the mind—he is cautious about what he believes (and how it affects him in the long-term).

Be open-minded, but have an open Bible too! “Prove [test] all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). That which disagrees with the King James Bible rightly divided is of Satan’s policy of evil. Be ye prudent… and vigilant!

We have recently uploaded to YouTube part 2 of 3 home Bible study videos that introduce dispensational Bible study, and specifically Pauline dispensationalism. Click here to watch it.

Do Not Confuse Me With Facts!

Monday, February 25, 2013

“If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant” (1 Corinthians 14:37,38 KJV).

Some people will just never accept what the Bible actually says….

Every person is born spiritually “ignorant” and “dead in [his or her] trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1-3; Ephesians 4:17-19). However, only a minority will ever accept true wisdom (Matthew 7:13,14): just a few will ever acknowledge their pitiful Adamic state, and just a fraction of that minority will appropriate by faith Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork as sufficient payment for their sins. What about the majority? They will do their absolute best to pretend that they are not really lost, that they are not really going to hell, that their church tradition is the final authority. They have an agenda—never, ever submit to the Holy Bible (this is the attitude of those already in hell).

I have encountered many individuals in my ministry. Some eagerly believed the Bible verses I shared with them. They were thrilled to have God’s Word enlighten them. Unfortunately, other people I met laughed at the verses (including a “grace” preacher!), they blatantly ignored God’s Word, and some quickly ended the conversation and literally ran away! They also discouraged others from using dispensational Bible study. Their experiences, their preconceived notions, and their traditions were at stake, and they knew it. Essentially, there was only one thing to say, and their actions could be reduced to the following words: “Do NOT confuse me with facts!”

In the context of today’s Scripture, the Corinthians were abusing spiritual gifts (especially the gift of tongues). They wrongly believed that speaking in gibberish (“unknown tongues”) was a sign of spirituality, so Paul reminded them that the test for spirituality today is what Jesus Christ says in his epistles, Romans through Philemon (today’s Scripture). Today’s Scripture makes it very clear—if anyone refuses to believe what the Lord has to say through Paul, let the person remain in ignorance. Give them their wish—confuse them not with facts. Free will!