Category: sound doctrine

The Bible is the Final Authority

Friday, September 30, 2011

“For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3 KJV).

Most church members view their denomination/pastor/priest as the final authority. Satan uses religion to indoctrinate people with the “tradition of men” (Colossians 2:8). If the church says it is right, then it must be right. Right? WRONG! The written Word of God, not church tradition, is the standard by which we should measure spiritual things because the Bible alone speaks with God Almighty’s authority. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16).

In Isaiah 8:19 the prophet mentions “them that have familiar spirits” and “wizards that peep and mutter”—evil spirits and false prophets. God urged Israel to distinguish Satan’s false prophets from His holy prophets by comparing their teaching to His written Word: “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (verse 20).

Even in Isaiah’s day (~2,700 years ago), God’s written Word was the standard by which everything was judged. The Bereans were notable for comparing their leaders’ teaching and preaching to the Old Testament (Acts 17:10,11). The Bible alone teaches God’s truth, so any contrary teaching was thereby exposed as satanic deception. According to Acts 17:2, the Apostle Paul always appealed to the Old Testament Scriptures when evangelizing Jews (recall no New Testament had been written yet).

The Lord Jesus quoted the Old Testament: “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Jesus Himself even read from the Bible in Luke 4:16-21! The New Testament quotes the Old Testament over 200 times (i.e., “as it is written…”).

According to the Bereans, Jesus Christ, the prophet Isaiah, and the Apostle Paul, the Bible is the final authority. God’s authority lies in the Holy Scriptures, not in any church hierarchy. No pastor, priest, or pope shares the Bible’s authority. The King James Bible is always the final authority, not religious tradition (Matthew 15:6; Mark 7:13).

To a Wearied Christian Soldier

Thursday, September 29, 2011

“But ye, brethren, be not weary in well-doing” (2 Thessalonians 3:13 KJV).

Job was in terrible shape—he lost his livestock, his children, and his health. He was so despondent that he wished he were dead (Job 3:3,9-13)! In fact, Job lamented: “My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul” (10:1).

Sometimes, a believer’s life can be downright depressing. We are hated and ridiculed for being Christians and labeled “hindrances to progress.” Our lives may be threatened and our family and friends will ostracize us because we serve the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole world is against God’s purpose and plan, thus it opposes us Christians. Oftentimes, it seems like we Christians are fighting a losing battle. Deception, corruption, and injustice are just so widespread. How will we ever reverse the course of this evil world? Rest assured that our Lord Jesus Christ will take of that mess at His Second Coming!

The key is to focus on sound doctrine, not on our circumstances. We focus on the things we cannot see: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 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” (2 Corinthians 4:17,18).

As members of the Church the Body of Christ, we are heaven bound. This evil world system is not our home—that is why we are not welcome here! The present evil world in which we live is only temporary. Our world will not always be so dire and gloomy. One day, Jesus Christ destroy this heaven and earth, and He will create a new heaven and a new earth. We rejoice in that hope!

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9). It is worth the suffering! 😀

Just a Few

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13,14 KJV).

One-third of the world’s population professes Christianity. Are there really over two billion Holy Spirit-indwelt believers on earth? Of course not, for today’s Scripture says only “few” will ever trust in God’s Word for salvation. How can so many people be wrong? The Lord has always had a remnant of believers, never large crowds.

Of the millions of people on earth in Noah’s day, only eight (!) individuals believed God and came into the ark of safety (Genesis 7:7; 2 Peter 2:5).

There were not even 10 believers in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:23-33; Genesis 19:24-25)!

When Israel went to possess the Promised Land under Moses’ leadership, twelve spies were sent to search Canaan. Ten spies said that Israel could not defeat the Canaan’s inhabitants, thereby calling God a liar. Only two spies believed God’s promise to fight for Israel and give them the land (Numbers 13:27-33; Numbers 14:6-9).

In Elijah’s day only 7,000 men in the whole nation Israel were not worshipping the pagan god Baal (1 Kings 19:18; Romans 11:4).

After three years of earthly ministry the Lord Jesus Christ had just 120 believers in Jerusalem (Acts 1:15).

The majority was wrong in the above passages; the same is true today. Only a fraction of today’s two billion professing Christians are genuine, Holy Spirit-indwelt individuals. As King James Bible users, we are a sliver of that fraction. We Pauline dispensationalists who study and believe the Bible rightly divided, we are a fraction of that fraction of a fraction.

We are the smallest (Christians)… of the smallest (King James Bible users)… of the smallest (Pauline dispensationalists). But be not discouraged! God’s people have always been outnumbered. Still, in the end, God wins. Despite the fact that we are “just a few,” the victory is still ours in Christ. 🙂

Separate Unto Truth, Do Not Unite in Error

Sunday, September 25, 2011

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14 KJV).

As the years pass, there is an increasing cry for unity among all (38,000+!!!) “Christian” denominations. The goal of the “ecumenical movement” is to have all “Christians” of every denomination ignore their doctrinal differences, and fellowship! Today’s Scripture screams against such foolishness. (Actually, the ecumenical movement is preparing society for the one-world religion of Revelation chapter 17.)

Opposed to the ecumenical slogan, “Come as ye are, we accommodate all faiths!,” Scripture declares: “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,” (2 Corinthians 6:18).

Now, please understand that the Bible says God loves all people: Jesus Christ shed His sinless blood to pay for the sins of the world (1 Timothy 2:3-7; Hebrews 2:9; 2 Peter 3:9; et al.). However, most of them are lost, never having trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on Calvary. Instead, the world’s religious people make every attempt to please God with their own “good” deeds, thereby ignoring Christ’s finished cross work.

As King James Bible-believing Pauline dispensationalists, we cannot unite with religionists and denominationalists because they deny the clear teachings of the Holy Bible. We refuse to embrace man’s “wisdom” and church tradition. Paul continues in 2 Corinthians 6:15: “What concord [agreement] hath Christ with Belial [Satan]? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel [unbeliever]?”

God does not want us fellowshipping in any religion or any denomination. Religion is satanic and anti-grace. If you compromise God’s truth and unite in error, your Christian life will be polluted and destroyed.

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Romans 16:17). As grace lifers following the Apostle Paul as he follows Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1), we have unashamedly chosen to separate unto truth, and we unapologetically refuse to unite in error.

A Sabbath Day to Remember

Sunday, September 18, 2011

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8 KJV).

For 2,500 years (Adam to Moses), no one kept the Sabbath day in Scripture. But, according to today’s Scripture, in the Mosaic Law, God commands Israel to keep the Sabbath holy (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15). Why Sabbath day keeping?

On the Saturday Sabbath, God commanded Israel to remember His purpose in creation, and His purpose in creating them. Every Sabbath, Jews memorized Scripture and meditated on God’s Word, recalling that God would use them to accomplish His will in the earth (Exodus 31:13-18). God would make Israel a “kingdom of priests” so the Jews could evangelize the world (Exodus 19:3-6; cf. Isaiah 61:6).

According to Matthew 25:34, God originally had that kingdom in mind during the creation week. The Sabbath is first mentioned immediately after the six days of creation (Genesis 2:1-3). God would have set up His kingdom in the earth back in Genesis, but Adam rebelled, sin entered, and God’s whole plan was interrupted. That kingdom (the millennial reign of Christ) is still postponed, 6,000 years later!

That Sabbath day was a day of rest: Jews were not to do any work on Saturday. In the Bible, Psalm 132:8,13,14, the LORD says He wants Zion (Jerusalem) for His “rest,” His “habitation” (dwelling-place, house!). God wanted to dwell on earth. Remember “Emmanuel” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23)—“God with us?” Jesus Christ “became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Christ came to Israel to be her King, to fulfill what the Sabbath day typified (shadowed, predicted). God demanded Israel keep the Sabbath holy to remind them weekly of that coming earthly kingdom.

By the way, as members of the Church the Body of Christ, we have no relation to Israel’s kingdom. Consequently, we have no Sabbath day to keep in this the Dispensation of Grace. Our Apostle Paul says that we are not bound to keep the Sabbath day (Colossians 2:16). Actually, Paul was “afraid of” the Galatian believers, who had abandoned God’s grace, preferring Mosaic Law-keeping and Sabbath day-keeping (Galatians 4:9-11).

Be Established Saints

Saturday, September 17, 2011

“For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; that is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me” (Romans 1:11,12 KJV).

The best book to use to introduce anyone to the Bible is the book of Romans, not John’s Gospel Record. The Holy Spirit designed the Bible’s canon so that Romans is the first of Paul’s epistles in Scripture. Lost people seeking salvation should study Romans chapters 1 through 5. Saved people seeking spiritual understanding from the Bible also need to begin in Romans, the foundational (basic) book of the doctrine committed to the Apostle Paul’s trust.

According to today’s Scripture, Paul wanted to “establish” the Roman saints, to educate them so they would have the same understanding of God’s Word as he did. Notice how the book of Romans is laid out:

  • Romans chapters 1-5: JUSTIFICATION — our salvation and position in Christ Jesus.
  • Romans chapters 6-8: SANCTIFICATION — how our salvation and position in Christ affect our lifestyle.
  • Romans chapters 9-11: DISPENSATION OF GRACE — where is the nation Israel today?
  • Romans chapters 12-16: CHRISTIAN SERVICE — sound doctrine for daily Christian living.

Romans 16:25,26b explain how God will “stablish” (stabilize) your Christian life: “according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets,”

The foundation of your Christian life is “my gospel,” Paul’s Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Built on that is “the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery,” sound doctrine from Paul’s epistles. Finally, “the scriptures of the prophets” refers to all of Scripture in light of the doctrine in Paul’s epistles.

If you want your Christian life to be “established” (fixed) and “stablished” (stabilized, strengthened), you need to build up a structure of sound doctrine inside your inner man. Study and believe the book of Romans, and ye will be established saints!

Trust in the LORD

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5,6 KJV).

What is the basis for your worldview? Who (or what) is your final authority? What gives you guidance in life? In our world of “glorified fools” and “educated ignoramuses,” Christians can quite easily fall prey to the “wisdom” of human viewpoint.

Human viewpoint seems wise and authoritative, yet the Bible pronounces, “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Corinthians 3:19a). Paul admonished the Corinthians: “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:5). The Holy Ghost through Paul warned the Colossian believers: “Beware lest any man spoil [rob] you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

Today’s Scripture reaffirms what the Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” We are so wicked we even deceive ourselves! We should not trust in ourselves or anyone like us; therefore, we need to trust in the LORD.

All aspects of your life should be lived with God’s will in mind. So, how will God “direct your paths?” In Psalm 119:105, the Bible says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” The Bible is our guidebook, the only Book that God wrote: “we have the mind of Christ” in the form of the Bible (1 Corinthians 2:16).

King David wrote (Psalm 62:7,8): “In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.”

May we always trust in the King James Bible rightly divided, and not rely on our intellects, or anyone else’s human viewpoint. May we always trust in the LORD!

Demas, a Reverted Saint

Monday, September 12, 2011

“Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: for Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia” (2 Timothy 4:9,10 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is found near the conclusion of Paul’s final epistle. Recall that Paul is imprisoned and awaiting execution. He urges Timothy to come visit him in Rome, for “only Luke is with me” (verse 11). Beside Luke and the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul is alone. Today’s Scripture tells us that Titus, Crescens, and Demas have left. While we know not why Titus and Crescens are absent, Demas’ nonattendance is (sadly) explained.

Years earlier, Paul wrote to the believers in Colosse. One of his concluding remarks was, “Demas, greet you” (Colossians 4:14). He also wrote in Philemon 1:24 that Demas was one of his “fellow-labourers.”

Today’s Scripture says Demas “loved this present world”—that is not a good thing. Galatians 1:4 speaks of “this present evil world.” The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that Satan is “the god of this world.” Demas had been helpful to Paul in the ministry, but as the years lapsed, Demas lost interest in the things of God.

Demas, evidently, reverted to his former lifestyle. Something evil had captivated his attention, and he abandoned Paul. Instead of standing beside his brothers in Christ, Luke and Paul, Demas fled Rome and was now in Thessalonica. While Demas never lost his salvation, he did trade his eternal wealth in Christ for the cheap, empty “pleasures” of this evil world.

How sad it is to see newly saved people return to their old, wild lifestyles. It is quite tragic to see children raised in the grace movement who later, as adults, abandon the rightly divided King James Bible for religion or a perverted modern Bible.

We need to “hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21b). Let Christ live His life in and through you as you study and believe the King James Bible rightly divided, and you will not end up like poor Demas, who discarded God’s riches for the world’s rubbish.

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]