Category: sound doctrine

Our Gospel Hid #2

Saturday, February 11, 2012

“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” (2 Corinthians 4:3,4 KJV).

The prostitutes, drug lords, atheists, and prison inmates all know that they need to be made right with God. But not those in religion! They have been brainwashed into thinking that they are “good enough” for God as long as they stay busy with their denomination’s rites and rituals. Beloved, according to the Bible, this is how Satan “blinds the minds of them which believe not!”

Satan sidetracks lost people using the 4,200-plus counterfeit world religions, making salvation in Jesus Christ nearly impossible to find. Perchance someone does find the Bible, and does trust Christ as Saviour—what then? Well, Satan now threatens his or her Christian walk by subsequently confusing the Christian using Christendom’s 38,000-plus denominations. Each group claims to “follow Jesus,” but this new Christian may never learn proper Bible study or sound doctrine. Additionally, the new Christian faces another discouragement: selecting one of the 200-plus modern English Bibles.

Disturbingly, many preach “Christ” today, but they are not preaching the Jesus Christ who Paul preached! Paul warns of “another Jesus, another spirit, and another gospel” (2 Corinthians 11:3,4). These individuals use Bible terms, but they are certainly not serving God. They preach false gospels, sometimes even quoting Scripture like Acts 2:38 or 1 John 1:9 (making you believe God was speaking to you, when the context says this is Israel’s salvation). Paul called this “handling the word of God deceitfully.” Yes, they use the Bible to lead people to hell!

Surely, Satan would never use someone who declares “Jesus is Lord,” would he? Satan would never work in a church where the Bible is taught, would he? YES! YES! Christendom today is thoroughly confused. “God is not the author of confusion” (1 Corinthians 14:33). Hence, we conclude that God is not working in Christendom today. Who is? Satan… hiding our gospel!

Our Gospel Hid #1

Friday, February 10, 2012

“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” (2 Corinthians 4:3,4 KJV).

How does Satan, “the god of this world,” keep our gospel hidden from lost people? Does he use drugs, alcohol, fornication, and the occult? According to the context of today’s Scripture, he uses something far subtler, what you would least expect.

God’s Word exposes the heart of Satan’s policy of evil. Previously, the Apostle Paul stated that he has “renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully” (verse 2). Where was this “dishonesty” and “craftiness?” Paul explains, “nor handling the word of God deceitfully.” It was in religion! Before Paul’s salvation, he, as a Pharisee (Jewish religious leader) and participant in Satan’s religious system, had used God’s Word (of all things!) to send people to hell (Galatians 1:13,14; Philippians 3:3-7). Thankfully, Paul claimed, “Now that I am saved, I have given up that foolishness!” Sadly, today, preachers still use the Bible to guide over 100,000 people to hell every day! How?

Satan hides the Gospel of God’s Grace (what God has done for you at Calvary) by having you focus on religion (what you can do for God at church). These “ministers” (!) of Satan (2 Corinthians 11:13-15) tell you that Christ died for you, but that you need to work for salvation (Acts 15:1-5). How deceptive! They mention Christ (sounding godly), but they are totally anti-God because they exalt man’s efforts to please God (thereby ignoring the sufficiency of Christ’s finished crosswork). God warned against this “false gospel” in Galatians 1:6-9. God’s attitude toward one who preaches this heretical gospel: “Let him be accursed [removed from fellowship]!!!”

The Gospel of the Grace of God says you can do nothing, nothing, nothing to merit salvation.

Friends, either Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection are sufficient for our salvation, or He is dead for nothing (Galatians 2:16,21)!

Busybodies with Busy Lips and Idle Bodies

Thursday, February 9, 2012

“For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread” (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 KJV).

The church at Thessalonica was one of the Apostle Paul’s exemplary assemblies. They exhibited spiritual growth, and their testimony impacted their lost and saved neighbors for God’s glory (1 Thessalonians 1:3-10). Their love for one another was also noteworthy (4:9,10). However, some of the Thessalonian believers were guilty of being busy… only with their lips.

In his first letter, Paul exhorted the Thessalonians: “[We beseech you to] study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you” (4:11). Some of these believers were so busy moving their lips that their bodies never moved (lazy). What little they did, they were interfering in the lives of others (being meddlesome), and then repeating the matter to others. This was obviously problematic, and Paul warned them to do less talking (“be quiet!”) and more work.

Perhaps a year or two later, Paul writes to the Thessalonians again. In today’s Scripture, we read that the previous issue—the busybodies with the busy lips and the idle bodies—is still unresolved. There are still believers who “are walking disorderly, working not at all.” Instead, these “busybodies” must be told again, “work with quietness” and “eat [your] own bread.” Yes, Paul had to tell some believers to quit being lazy, to quit mooching off of others, to work, and to do their tasks quietly (minding their own business and avoiding gossip).

Saints, we need to guard against laziness and busy lips (gossiping). We are just as human as the Thessalonians; we need to take an opportunity to examine our hearts in this regard. Am I guilty of gossiping or being lazy? If yes to either, why not obey today’s Scripture by faith?

Religious Tradition is Not the Final Authority

Saturday, February 4, 2012

“Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye” (Mark 7:13 KJV).

A critic once asked me where the Bible taught “Sola Scriptura” (that the Bible, not religious tradition, was the final authority). Although he attempted to trip me up with this “I gotcha” issue, I showed him the following verses, including today’s Scripture, and he has not been heard from since! 🙂

Just as vain religious tradition abounds today, it did in Christ’s time. The Pharisees and scribes loved being religious, but they vehemently rejected God’s Son Jesus Christ, and they made every attempt to hinder His ministry. In their minds, their vain religious tradition, not God’s Word, had the preeminence (Galatians 1:13,14; 1 Peter 1:18). Sound familiar?

Today, most churches relegate God’s Word to a “good advice” status: the Bible’s testimony is only sought if it agrees with church tradition. Myriads of church members only hear God’s Word via a biased (denominational) viewpoint. This happens in “Christian” churches of all places too!

In Matthew 15:9, Jesus said: “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” He expounded in Mark 7:8,9: “For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.”

The focus was not on God’s doctrine and its meaning, but whether or not someone could pacify Israel’s religious body with outward performance (formalism). By cleaving to their tradition, they nullified God’s Word (today’s Scripture). Consider modern-day church members enslaved to a denominational hierarchy, bound to perform religious duty and appease fallible man.

Friends, you either believe religious tradition, or you believe God’s Word. The two cannot and will not mix because they are mutually exclusive: “…Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition” (Matthew 15:6). According to Jesus Christ, the Bible alone has God’s authority, not religious tradition (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16,17).

Why Twelve Apostles?

Friday, February 3, 2012

“Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:27,28 KJV).

Why did the Lord Jesus Christ choose twelve apostles during His earthly ministry? Today’s Scripture elaborates.

When God separated Abram (Abraham) from the human race in Genesis chapter 12, He purposed to create a nation for His name. Using Abraham’s bloodline, God would also send the King-Messiah-Redeemer (Jesus), the seed of the woman, that He promised in Genesis 3:15. As God swore, elderly Abram and Sarai (Sarah) had their son Isaac (Genesis 17:1-22). Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob had twelve sons (Genesis 35:22-26). Jacob’s twelve sons head “the twelve tribes of Israel” (Genesis 49:1-28; Acts 7:8).

In Bible numerics, 12 is the number of the nation Israel. God used twelve men and their wives to give birth to the Jewish race. According to today’s Scripture, when Jesus Christ came (First Advent), He chose 12 men to be His apostles, individuals that He sent out to evangelize the rest of Israel (Matthew 10:5-7). But, not only that… we gather from today’s Scripture that Christ had actually chosen the twelve rulers of Israel, who would govern Israel when He would set up His kingdom (cf. Luke 22:29,30)!

The program operating during Christ’s earthly ministry was the prophetic program, which God had operated since the world began (Acts 3:21). Today, Israel’s program is currently interrupted by our mystery program, the Dispensation of Grace (Romans 16:25,26a). When this present dispensation is concluded (at the rapture), God will return to Israel’s program. After Jacob’s trouble (Daniel’s 70th week, the seven-year Tribulation), Jesus Christ, at His Second Coming, will return to establish His earthly kingdom. Then, He will fulfill today’s Scripture. (Albeit, Matthias will assume Judas’ position; Acts 1:21-26.)

Why twelve apostles? So Israel can one day have twelve princes!

Has Hell Departed Far Hence?

Thursday, February 2, 2012

“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41 KJV).

Today’s Scripture (and its context of verses 31-46) explains that, after Christ returns to earth (His Second Coming), He will gather to stand before Him the saved and lost Gentile survivors of the seven-year Tribulation. The Gentiles (not us the Body of Christ) who blessed Israel during the Tribulation will be allowed to enter the earthly kingdom (verses 34-40) while those who refused to help Israel will be cast into hell, “everlasting punishment” (verses 41-46).

Hell is a real, spiritual place of “everlasting fire” that God originally created to punish Satan and his angels (today’s Scripture), but it also exists for those humans who participate in Satan’s rebellion against God. Here, the souls of the damned are eternally banished from God’s presence, confined to a place where God’s wrath is never appeased, where consciousness is rewarded with intense heat and painful remembrance (note the thirsty rich man tormented by memory and flames in Luke 16:22-31). Sin is allowed to disfigure their souls and hell’s fire preserves them forever (Matthew 10:28; Mark 9:43-50; John 5:28,29; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10). There is no consumption or annihilation—it is “everlasting punishment.”

Understandably, the doctrine of everlasting hellfire is quite unpopular in modern-day “feel-good” Christendom. You will rarely hear preachers (especially “mega-churchers”) mention everlasting hellfire. Moreover, hell is watered down and even removed from modern Bibles! The Greek words translated “hell” (hades) and “hell/hellfire” (gehenna) in our King James Bible have been left untranslated in modern Bibles (including NKJV). Which is more offensive—“hell” or “hades/gehenna?” Modern Bibles further deny the everlasting nature of hell by replacing “everlasting fire” with “eternal fire,” and omitting Mark 9:44,46 (which both read, “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched”).

“Hell” may have departed far hence from Christendom and modern Bibles, but those who reject Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour will depart far hence to the everlasting hellfire that God’s Word (King James Bible) clearly teaches!

God Which Worketh in Me Mightily

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 KJV).

Today, there is great discussion in Christendom about “Holy Ghost power.” Religion’s “Holy Ghost power” is simply a flesh-appealing duplication of Israel’s time-past program—Acts chapter 2—a program that God is not operating today. We cannot force God to do something He is not doing today. It behooves us to study God’s Word so we can learn what He is doing today and then, by faith, follow that.

If we have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, the Holy Ghost has permanently indwelt us (Romans 8:9,11; 1 Corinthians 3:16,17; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; 2 Timothy 1:14). While we Christians are never in danger of losing the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can prevent Him from working and accomplishing His will in and through us. Paul wrote, “Quench not the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19). To “quench” the Holy Spirit means to hinder Him from working within us. We can choose to let God the Holy Spirit use His Word to transform us, or we can decide to do what we want to do (Romans 8:1).

The Bible says: “…the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). As you study the King James Bible rightly divided, God the Holy Ghost will take His Word and transform you from the inside out for His glory. If we let the Holy Spirit work in us, He will produce “the fruit of the Spirit” in our lives: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22,23).

Paul wrote, “whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily” (Colossians 1:29). God’s “good pleasure” is that He wants to transform our daily behavior, so that it better reflects our “new creature” status in His Son Jesus Christ (Romans 12:1,2; Ephesians 4:20-24).

Saints and brethren, will you by faith let God transform you using His Word, thereby allowing Him to work mightily in you, as the Apostle Paul did? I hope you will.

I Want Pictures!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

“Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29 KJV).

Once, when my mom offered to read the Holy Scriptures to my then five-year-old niece, the latter protested, “I want pictures!” 🙂 I could not help but chuckle upon hearing that. Yet, how many churchgoers prefer experiences that can seen and felt rather than sound doctrine that can be read and believed?

Most Bibles lack pictures, which makes God’s Word less appealing to the average reader. But, these precious souls fail to understand God never intended His Word to be a photo album or art portfolio. God wanted us to know information, but He did not communicate that information using paintings, drawings, or photographs. God wanted to not just give us His thoughts, but His very words (Deuteronomy 8:3; Psalm 12:6,7; Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4)! Jesus Christ declared: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35; cf. Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33).

While God could have communicated His truth in any way He wanted, He determined to have His truth permanently written down in a Book, His Book, whose words would span the eons of eternity future. That Book would be independent of the reader, and would serve as an objective standard to distinguish truth from error. It would never change, it would always be relevant, and it would never be lost to time. He would preserve the words of the Book forever and ever and ever.

Instead of us seeking “pictures” (visual confirmation of Scripture) like my niece and doubting Thomas of today’s Scripture, let us pursue “the wholesome words of Jesus Christ and the doctrine which is according to godliness” (1 Timothy 6:3). We place no authority on experiences, but we trust alone in the King James Bible’s authority, the only standard by which we gauge the veracity or falsity of all experiences. “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever” (Isaiah 40:8; 1 Peter 1:24,25).

No Blood Indicates No Faith #2

Thursday, January 19, 2012

“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh” (Hebrews 11:4 KJV).

God instructed Cain and Abel to bring blood sacrifices. However, only Abel obeyed God because he alone had faith. Cain lacked faith, so he completely ignored God’s Word. Cain wanted to do what Cain wanted to do. This is typical human nature, and it has not changed one wit. Man is naturally sinful in that he seeks autonomy—to be his own god and to do what he wants to do!

“Cain… was of that wicked one [Satan!]… his own works were evil, and his brother’s [Abel’s] righteous” (1 John 3:12). Now, Cain’s vegetation offering did not look evil—it was just “fruit of the ground” (Genesis 4:3). Yet, despite its innocent appearance, it was evil and God rejected it. How was it evil? God wanted blood sacrifices, not crops (Hebrews 12:24)! Cain displeased God because he had no faith (Hebrews 11:6).

Now, apply that scenario to today. Billions of church members are doing everything they can to work for heaven. Like Cain, they completely ignore God’s Word when it says their “good” works are actually “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6) and “dung” (Philippians 4:8). They give faithfully, pray daily, attend church weekly, help the poor, clean the church building, sing in the choir, and so on. Sadly, this is vain activity, for God never commanded them to work for heaven!

In this the Dispensation of Grace, God is freely offering His grace, love, mercy, forgiveness, salvation, acceptance, fellowship, and righteousness in the Person of His Son Jesus Christ. “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him [Jesus Christ] that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5).

Salvation is so simple, yet religion complicates it with our works. We sinners cannot work for salvation. The Bible says the only way to heaven, and everlasting salvation, is to trust in what Jesus Christ already did for you, not what you can do for Him.

Whom Doth Thou Really Follow? #3

Sunday, January 15, 2012

“Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is” (John 9:28,29 KJV).

In the context of today’s Scripture, Jesus heals a blind man. After he appears before the unbelieving Pharisees, they summon his parents to confirm his former blindness (verses 18-21). His parents fear being cast out of the synagogue, so they avoid admitting Jesus Christ healed him (verses 21-23). Contrariwise, their son boldly holds to God’s truth, refusing Israel’s vain religion. Thus, the Pharisees “reviled [insulted] him” (today’s Scripture). How we Pauline dispensationalists face the same persecution today!

Most Jews—especially Israel’s religious leaders—refused to trust in Jesus as their Messiah. Any Jew who embraced Jesus as Messiah was alienated by his friends and family, for the Jews who followed Jesus Christ went counter to Israel’s apostate religious system. The parents of the man in today’s Scripture feared losing their popularity, so they did not confess Christ. Eventually, the Pharisees cast out the man for following Jesus (verse 34).

Similarly, if you have trusted exclusively in Christ Jesus, and you are not relying on your good works for salvation, you are going contrary to the prevalent works-religion system of our day. The lost world avoids you because you are God’s child. Moreover, if you study and believe the King James Bible “rightly divided,” as 2 Timothy 2:15 teaches, you become even less popular. The denominationalists and religionists do not want you either!

We follow our Apostle Paul as he follows Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). Since most of Christendom abhors dispensational Bible study, they keep their distance from us. The denominationalists and religionists treat us the same way the wicked Pharisees treated the Jewish believers—criticize and ostracize! Like the Pharisees, they reject sound Bible doctrine and keep their tradition. Moreover, the non-religious lost world rejects us too, for we trust in Jesus Christ while they trust in their worthless idols.

Let us continue following Paul as he follows Christ, even as they criticize and ostracize! 🙂