Category: Paul’s apostleship

Understand and Enjoy the Bible! #4

Friday, January 8, 2016

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

Although there is so much confusion about it, can we really understand and enjoy the Bible?

There are three primary reasons why there is such extensive argument about what the Bible actually says. Secondly, people who do not have God’s Word cannot understand and teach the Bible correctly. Notice 2 Corinthians 2:17: “For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.”

People have corrupted Scripture, whether the first century or the twenty-first. Read 2 Thessalonians 2:2: “That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.” Someone wrote a letter, forged Paul’s name on it, and then sent it to Thessalonica to pass it off as “God’s Word.” Satan’s ministers also did that centuries prior to Paul: “Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:32).

Between the first century A.D. and our present-day, many manuscripts and versions have been passed off as “God’s Word.” Friends, we would be fools to think they are all authentic. Beware of the modern-version forgeries! And yet, unbelieving “scholarship”—or saved people misled by unbelieving “scholarship”—values them and uses their “scholarly” (ha!) readings to correct God’s infallible Word. If someone is not using the proper Bible text (in English, the King James Bible), they have no business whatsoever in speaking or writing anything related to the Book they do not have.

Understand and Enjoy the Bible! #3

Thursday, January 7, 2016

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

Although there is so much confusion about it, can we really understand and enjoy the Bible?

There are three primary reasons why there is extensive argument about what the Bible actually says. Firstly, people who do not have God’s Spirit cannot understand and teach His Word correctly. Notice 1 Corinthians chapter 2: “[13] 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. [14] But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Ephesians chapter 1 says that we receive the Holy Spirit by believing on Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork as sufficient payment for our sins: “[13] In whom [Christ] ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, [14] Which is the earnest of our inheritance….”

If someone has not believed the Gospel of Grace alone for salvation, he or she does not have the Holy Spirit, and thus is incapable of accurately commenting on Scripture. Innumerable pastors, deacons, priests, seminary professors, Bible translators, and teachers have no business whatsoever in speaking or writing anything about the Book whose Author they lack. And yet, these are the very people writing the vast majority of “Christian” literature, teaching in most “Christian” institutions, and preaching on most “Christian” radio and television stations. They do not have God the Holy Spirit as their Teacher, so they are unqualified to be our teachers in God’s Word. They are doing nothing but using human intellect to guess what the Bible teaches. May they hush so confusion can subside!

Understand and Enjoy the Bible! #2

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

Although there is so much confusion about it, can we really understand and enjoy the Bible?

Friends, the Bible is a big Book. The King James Bible contains 1,189 chapters; 31,101 verses; and 791,328 words. Unfortunately, a very small fraction of readers ever make it through them all. If they do finish reading the Bible through, even fewer understand what they read. Why?

It takes little to discourage people from putting down the Bible altogether—the various “Bible-believing” (ha!) groups that argue, the modern translations with their arduous Latinized words, the commentaries that all teach opposing ideas about the same verses, the symbolic and other “cryptic” passages, the scoffers and skeptics’ chuckles, and the stigma of believing “the Word of God” in this “day and age of education, empiricism, reason, and sophistication.” We can only wonder how any Bible readers in their understanding ever get past the opening verse: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Once, I read a Bible commentary in which the author lamented, “Preachers have done a great job in confusing people in the Scriptures.” Imagine—he wrote that almost 50 years ago! Yes, 99 percent of church leaders have utterly failed in educating their people in God’s Word. They taught them great stories, told them hilarious jokes, and led them in “epic” “worship” songs and dances, but what really mattered most—the eternal Word of God being deposited into the eternal souls of people—was at the bottom of the ecclesiastical agenda (if at all). What did JEHOVAH God say of Israel’s lackadaisical religious leaders misguiding God’s nation centuries before Christ? “Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” (Jeremiah 23:1). There are many “destroyed” and “scattered” church members even today, but there is hope!

Our first Bible Q&A of 2016: “Should we pray for ‘safe trips’ and ‘traveling mercies?’”

Understand and Enjoy the Bible! #1

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

Although there is so much confusion about it, can we really understand and enjoy the Bible?

Friend, the Holy Bible, if you use it properly, can be the most edifying Book in your life. Conversely, if you use it wrongly, it will be the most destructive Book in your life. Simply glance at the professing “Christian church” today to see there is nothing but spiritual destruction. There is widespread fussing and fighting, and as Paul wrote in Galatians 5:15, church members are “biting and devouring one another” figuratively speaking.

The sad fact is that most of these people are not endeavoring to teach God’s truth. They are attempting to defend their denominational tenets and church traditions. Read their books. View their television programs or Internet videos. Listen to their podcasts or radio shows. They use the Bible text only when it says something they want to teach and do. Otherwise, they simply twist the Scriptures and force them to say something else, or they fabricate Scripture without so much as one blush. Is there any hope in ever resolving all of the doctrinal disputes? Can God’s Word really be a blessing in our lives instead of a burden?

Friends, during the next two weeks, we will examine today’s Scripture in great detail. These two verses—some of the clearest in all the Word of God on the subject—caution us concerning the great dangers of mishandling Scripture. Long before the 40,000 denominations of Christendom appeared, the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Peter had issued an express warning. Beloved, if we are to recover ourselves from this most miserable amalgamation of twisted Bible verses and pagan error masquerading as Bible truth, we had better come to God’s Word, God’s way… and ever so quickly!

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks #3

Thursday, December 10, 2015

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:13,14 KJV).

The fifth verse and the final verse of the classic Christmas carol paraphrase today’s Scripture.

“Thus spake the angel and forthwith
Appeared a shining throng
Of angels, praising God, and thus
Addressed their joyful song:
‘All glory be to God on high,
And to the earth be peace;
Good will henceforth from Heaven to men
Begin and never cease
Begin and never cease.’”

People who know nothing about the Bible carelessly complain that the God of the Old Testament was a “bigot.” They dislike that He dealt almost exclusively with Israel, having almost no dealings with Gentiles. Additionally, they whine that Jesus was a “racist” because He said that His earthly ministry was limited to Israel (Matthew 10:5-7; Matthew 15:24). What fools and blasphemers!

When JEHOVAH promised Abraham that He would make of him a great nation, that nation was to be the channel of God’s salvation and blessing to reach all the world’s (Gentile) nations. “…[I]n thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Rebuking ignorant Nicodemus, Jesus said of Israel’s earthly kingdom: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Jesus also said, “…[R]epentance and remission of sins should be preached in [my] name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). He told His apostles to baptize and teach “all nations” (Matthew 28:19). God was dealing with and converting Israel, that redeemed Israel go to all nations on His behalf when Jesus became their King!!! Read Zechariah 8:20-23 and Isaiah 60:1-3 (yet future).

Hence, the angels sang at Jesus’ birth, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” God wanted everyone—“good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” (verse 10)—to have a relationship with Him in Israel’s kingdom. Of course, Israel’s kingdom is still future. Romans 11:11-13 says salvation is coming to us Gentiles without Israel, through Paul’s ministry and Paul’s Gospel (Christ’s finished crosswork).

NOTE: I want to say a special “Happy Birthday” to my Mom, who will no doubt read this. Thank you for being faithful to Father God in leading me to Jesus Christ and teaching me the Scriptures all those years ago!

A Conference Worth Attending

Friday, November 27, 2015

“Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:13 KJV).

A great Bible conference begins today!

This evening, we will hold our fourth annual Slidell Grace Bible Conference in southeastern Louisiana. It will be nice to see old friends in the ministry as well as new ones. We are all going to fellowship with each other around our Saviour (Jesus Christ), our final authority (King James Bible), and our apostle (Paul). There will be delicious food for the (temporary) outward man to enjoy, but more importantly, there will be strong spiritual meat on which the (eternal) inner man can feast forever!

We saints are not assembling to feel religious, but rather to be reminded of God’s life in us. We saints are not assembling to be entertained, but rather to be edified by God’s Word rightly divided. We saints are not assembling to fill our minds with complex denominational doctrines, but rather to fill our hearts with the simple doctrine that is in the King James Bible. We saints are not assembling to exalt preachers, but rather to encourage one another to continue in sound Bible doctrine. We saints are not assembling to tell God the Holy Spirit what He should be doing in the present-day, but rather to let God the Holy Spirit tell us what He is doing so we can by faith do that as well.

It is because of today’s Scripture that, at our Bible conference, we will “give attendance” (or, pay attention to) “reading,” “exhortation [encouragement/advice],” and “doctrine [teaching].” Very rarely is the Bible actually read in “Christian” churches today. They read novels, commentaries, and Greek grammars, but not much Bible (unless it fits the system the denomination promotes). Oftentimes, the “encouragement” in “Christian” churches today is some feel-good message instead of a sound (“healthy”) message. Very rarely is “doctrine” mentioned in most “Christian” churches today. “Boring” Bible study and “divisive” doctrine have been replaced by moving, jumping, and singing. No need to wonder why the professing church is so impotent and functionally dead!

Above all, we are meeting to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ, right now, and forever! 🙂

NOTE: For those of you who cannot attend our conference in person, we will have the videos available on YouTube within the next few weeks. On behalf of the speakers, Richard Jordan, Frank Redman, Charlie Fouche, and myself (Shawn Brasseaux), your prayer is greatly appreciated!

Rise Up, LORD! #6

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

“And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel” (Numbers 10:35,36 KJV).

What does today’s Scripture mean?

In Acts chapter 7, a window into the third heaven was opened, and Stephen, standing on Earth, saw Jesus finally standing at His Father’s right hand. When Stephen told Israel what he saw, they recalled their Old Testament prophecies and were convicted. Remembering the closing warning of Peter’s sermon on Pentecost just a year earlier (Acts 2:33-40), these lost Jews knew God’s judgment against their persistent unbelief was coming.

Today, 2000 years later, strangely, we can declare that wrath never came. Not because God was bluffing, but because He interrupted that prophetic program and introduced our mystery program. God wanted to demonstrate His wisdom. While Israel was uncooperative with Him in reaching the lost and dying Gentiles, He would still reach them without Israel. He would save and use one of Stephen’s murderers, Saul of Tarsus, commissioning him as the Apostle Paul of the Gentiles. Jesus Christ did return, but not in wrath. He returned in grace, mercy, peace, and love to save Paul (1 Timothy 1:13-16). (But, that, friends is another marvelous story we must forgo here!)

Had Israel entered the Promised Land under Moses in faith, Jesus Christ would have come to reign over them (note Exodus 15:17,18). Alas, they did not and He did not. How Israel saw JEHOVAH God cleansing His land of pagans so they (His people) could enter in, they were getting a glimpse of JEHOVAH God coming to finish the job at Christ’s Second Coming. Except, at the Second Coming, not only will that wrath be directed toward lost Gentiles, but also toward lost Israel. Only redeemed Israel—her Little Flock—will go into the land. The descendants of Abraham who reject Jesus Christ, they are His enemies, and have nowhere to go but to God’s punishment against their sin, eternal hellfire.

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Why did Cornelius have to hear Peter’s preaching?”

Satan and Dispensationalism #25

Friday, October 30, 2015

“Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:” (Colossians 1:25,26 KJV).

Dispensational Bible Study enables us to see and appreciate the final revelation from God. Satan is thus utterly embarrassed!

It is written down forever in the eternal Word of God. Looks were indeed deceiving at Calvary. Satan, appearing victorious, actually participated in his own defeat! Beloved, the preaching of the cross is that God outsmarted Satan. Jesus Christ’s shed blood can deliver sinners—even wretched, uncircumcised Gentiles such as ourselves—from Satan’s domain!

“[12] Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: [13] Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: [14] In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:12-14).

That God would take Jews and Gentiles who would simply trust His Son’s finished crosswork, and form one new man, the Church the Body of Christ—completely unheard of in the Old Testament! Even Satan could not and did not figure it out. It was not revealed to Satan, his fallen angels, God’s elect angels, and man until God saved miserable Saul of Tarsus and commissioned him as the Apostle Paul. As God’s apostle of the Gentiles, Paul had a special role. He was given the privilege to finish God’s Word (today’s Scripture).

Through the Pauline epistles, Romans through Philemon, God has made known unto us “the mystery of his will” (Ephesians 1:9). God had a secret will, friends. Now that God has revealed His secret through Paul’s writings, Satan has an active campaign to keep it hidden. Dispensational Bible Study is watered down, slandered, and ignored by the religious crowd and the modern English versions, that Satan not be exposed as foolish. Let us not be foolish. Lest we miss God’s latest (and final) revelation, may we recognize and hold fast to by faith the Dispensation of Grace given to us by Jesus Christ through the Apostle Paul.

-FINIS!- 🙂

Satan and Dispensationalism #24

Thursday, October 29, 2015

“Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:” (Colossians 1:25,26 KJV).

Dispensational Bible Study enables us to see and appreciate the final revelation from God. Satan is thus utterly embarrassed!

Lucifer was (still is as Satan) the wisest creature. However, that which is created can never be greater than its creator. God knows Satan’s thoughts, but Satan knows not God’s thoughts. While the triune Godhead revealed Their will for the earth and Israel, They kept something secret. Satan was intelligent, but not omniscient (all-knowing); some things were completely unknown to him. The triune Godhead skillfully let Satan participate in Calvary’s crosswork. After Calvary, the Godhead revealed Their original purpose in Calvary.

Had Satan really known what God would do through Christ’s finished crosswork, Satan would have done everything he could to prevent Calvary. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians chapter 2: “[6] Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: [7] But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: [8] Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

Colossians 2:14,15: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”

Through Christ’s shed blood, all sinners can now be reconciled to God. In the future, Israel’s New Covenant can be established, to save her from her sins and make her God’s earthly kingdom of priests. Moreover, the direct divine revelation given to Paul is that Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection is how (now, in our Dispensation of Grace) all people—Jew or Gentile—can by faith join the Church the Body of Christ and form God’s heavenly kingdom.

Satan and Dispensationalism #23

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

“Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:” (Colossians 1:25,26 KJV).

Dispensational Bible Study enables us to see and appreciate the final revelation from God. Satan is thus utterly embarrassed!

The Lord Jesus “was crucified through weakness” (2 Corinthians 13:4). On the cross, He looked so hopeless and so helpless. Surely, Satan, in his demented mind, greatly delighted to see the Lord of glory suffer horrifically at the hands of sinful man. Satan was exuberant when Jesus bowed His head and gave up the ghost. As they took Him down from the cross and buried Him, Satan was overwhelmingly pleased with himself. The disciples were heartbroken. The Man who had promised to save them, was now dead. All their hopes and dreams were buried with Him. Yes, Father God buried His Son that day, but certainly Father God did not bury His program that day!

Three days later, Satan got the shock of his life. The Lord Jesus was alive! His disciples were equally amazed. God’s program for Israel had not ended. Jesus Christ began to preach about that kingdom deliverance again. We can imagine how furious Satan became! What in the world could he do to a Man whom he had already murdered, and who had been resurrected? Nothing! But the greatest shock was yet to come!

With the conversion and ministry of the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 9, the ascended Lord Jesus Christ revealed a secret. While God had been revealing prophecy prior to Paul—that “which God hath spoken by the mouth all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21)—He had deliberately withheld the mystery. When we come to Paul, we read, “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” (Romans 16:25,26; cf. today’s Scripture). What is “the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery?” It is the doctrine that exposes Satan as the foolish loser that he is!

Beloved, we glory in Jesus Christ as we present to you our special edition Bible Q&A #200: “What is Acts 9/28 Hybrid Theology?”