As I Ought to Speak

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:18-20 KJV).

The Apostle Paul, writing from his Roman prison (“in bonds”), exhorted the Ephesians to not only pray “for all saints,” but to pray for him too. Why?

Today, there is a battle between good and evil, a war between God and Satan. We Christians are soldiers in that war: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (verse 12).

As Christians, we are Satan’s enemies. In order to attack God, the devil will target us, God’s children! Thankfully, in Christ Jesus, we have been equipped to “stand against the wiles [tricky schemes] of the devil” (verse 11). In Christ, we have “the armour of God” and “the power of [the Lord’s] might” (verses 10-16). God has also given us His written Word, the Bible, “the sword of the Spirit,” to defend ourselves (verse 17). “But thanks be to God, which giveth us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

This battle intensifies when Satan distracts Christians so they lose sight of their victory in Christ. We Christians, in discouragement, begin to retreat. The Holy Spirit, knowing this, interjected today’s Scripture into this passage. There are times when we fear speaking out for God and His Word. We fear rejection and shame. This is why Paul, in today’s Scripture, asked the Ephesians to pray for him—he needed to “speak boldly” and preach Christ Jesus in that awful, nerve-racking prison.

Saints, pray for all our Christian brethren who, like us, also experience trepidation when evangelizing the lost and teaching God’s Word. Pray that they be bold, for remember, “they [and we] ought to speak….”

Adios to Being Atheos

Monday, October 17, 2011

“That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:” (Ephesians 2:12 KJV).

The Greek word translated “without God” is “atheos,” from which we get “atheism.” God exists, so how can today’s Scripture teach that some individuals (the Gentiles of verse 11) were “without God?”

After the Great Flood of Noah’s day, Noah’s descendants did not scatter as God commanded (Genesis 9:1,7). In fact, they gathered for pagan worship at the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-7)! God in righteous judgment scattered them, resulting in the world’s nations and languages (verses 8,9). In Genesis chapter 12, God selected one Syrian, Abram (Abraham), to create the nation Israel. Anyone not a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be a Gentile (non-Jew).

What happened to Gentiles after Genesis chapter 12? “God gave them up” (Romans 1:21-32). “[God] who in time past suffered [allowed] all nations to walk in their own ways” (Acts 14:16). “At the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent;” (Acts 17:30). The Gentiles were “without God” indeed.

God dealt almost exclusively with Israel in the Old Testament (Nineveh, Rahab, and Ruth were some Gentile exceptions). The covenants belonged to Israel’s patriarchs, not the Gentiles. “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:” (Romans 15:8). Whenever a Gentile woman approached Jesus in His earthly ministry, He said, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). He also said, “Salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22).

Thankfully, when we come to Paul’s ministry, God ministers to Gentiles apart from Israel. Today, Israel has temporarily lost her privileged position of Romans 9:4,5 (Romans 11:11,12). We Gentiles enjoy God’s salvation through the Gospel of Grace, which can save both Jews and Gentiles (Romans 1:16). God commissioned Paul as “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13), so Ephesians 2:13 says we Gentiles can bid “adios” (farewell) to being “atheos!” 😉

Is Everyone God’s Child?

Sunday, October 16, 2011

“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Timothy 2:19 KJV).

We often hear the expressions, “Everyone is God’s child” and “the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man.” (HA!) Is everyone eventually bound to go to heaven? (This heresy is called universalism, by the way.) Today’s Scripture is one of many verses that explain everyone is NOT God’s child. “The Lord knoweth them that are his” is a restrictive clause: it indicates that some people do not belong to the Lord.

“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26). We are God’s children only if the Holy Spirit has placed us into Jesus Christ (Romans 6:1-6; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:13). Yes, mankind has a common Creator, but most people are bound for hell (Matthew 7:13,14). If everyone is “God’s child,” then why does God cast some people into hellfire in Matthew 25:41-46, Mark 9:41-50, and Revelation 20:14,15? Jesus told Israel’s religious leaders “ye are of your father, the devil” (John 8:44). God was certainly not their Father!

“…The living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe” (1 Timothy 4:10). Potentially, everyone can receive salvation through Christ Jesus. The salvation found in Christ Jesus is available to everyone, extended freely through God’s grace. However, the salvation in Christ Jesus must be imputed to each individual by faith. When that person trusts in Christ Jesus as his or her personal Saviour, then and only then does God the Father apply (impute) salvation to his or her account and make the person His child. A person only becomes a child of God when he or she is reconciled with God through Jesus Christ via imputation (salvation).

Are you a child of God? Have been saved by trusting in the finished crosswork of Christ on Calvary? Jesus Christ “tasted death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9), so He died to save even you! Will you trust in Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour?

The Ever-Luminous Beacon

Saturday, October 15, 2011

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105 KJV).

Life is sometimes a lonely, dark, confusing maze. During these disappointing and chaotic periods, where should we turn for advice? Today’s Scripture enlightens us. The Bible is a beacon shining brightly in the midst of life’s troubles.

Proverbs 2:6 says, “For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” The Bible is “given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16): it came from His mouth (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4). Scripture gives us God’s wisdom regarding marriage, the workplace, parenting, friendships, enduring difficult times, but most importantly, how to be saved from our sins and obtain eternal life through Jesus Christ.

“The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple” (Psalm 119:130). God never intended His Word to answer every possible question. Contrariwise, God gave us His Word to teach us what we need to know—information that is of eternal value. We need sound doctrine that will carry us through this earthly life and right into eternity. The Bible does not give us all the answers, but it does educate us about God’s purpose and plan for the heaven and earth. Furthermore, Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon teach us what God is doing today.

God has “magnified [his] word above all [his] name” (Psalm 138:2). “The word of the Lord endureth for ever” (Isaiah 40:8; 1 Peter 1:25). The Bible is “truth” (John 17:17). God’s Word is unlike any other book. The King James Bible is God’s preserved Word in English, so it should serve as your final authority in life. As we study God’s Word rightly divided as 2 Timothy 2:15 instructs—understanding what Scripture is written to and about us versus what is written to Israel—and place our faith in what we read, God the Holy Spirit will then take His Word and use it to work within us for His glory.

With the King James Bible in hand, we always have the (free!) counsel of God, the ever-luminous beacon, literally at our fingertips….

As We Stand Before God Our Saviour

Friday, October 14, 2011

“To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints” (1 Thessalonians 3:13 KJV).

Every chapter of 1 Thessalonians concludes with a reference to the rapture, Christ gathering the Church that is His Body (1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:17; 5:23). Actually, today’s Scripture describes an event that will occur after the rapture.

Saints, one day (the rapture), the trump of God shall sound and we shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)! After the rapture, we will stand before “the Judgment Seat of Christ.”

The Judgment Seat of Christ is not where we answer for sin, but rather when Jesus Christ evaluates our Christian lives and spiritual maturity. Each of us will give an individual account to the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 14:10-12; 1 Corinthians 3:9-15; 2 Corinthians 5:9,10). Jesus Christ will compare our spiritual maturity (the doctrine we believed) to Paul’s epistles. On this basis, the Lord will give us a role (a position in the government of the heavenly places) (Ephesians 2:6,7).

But, notice Christ’s coming in today’s Scripture is not His coming “for all His saints” (the rapture), but rather “with all His saints.” After the spiritual capacities of the members of the Body of Christ have been judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ, Jesus Christ will take us with Him to meet God the Father. Today’s Scripture describes when Jesus Christ will present us to our Father God. Wow!

God the Father will then appoint us to those positions of the heavenly government that Jesus Christ determined at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Remember that our individual roles (offices) are determined by how much sound doctrine we built up in our inner man. This is why dispensational Bible study, “rightly dividing the word of truth,” is so important. We do not want to stand before God “ashamed,” which will SADLY be the case for many Christians because they never studied the Bible God’s way (2 Timothy 2:15).

Whose Praise Do You Love?

Thursday, October 13, 2011

“Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:42,43 KJV).

How much are willing to risk (and perhaps lose) for being God’s child, a member of the Body of Christ? This present evil world, despite its religious façade, is not God’s friend. It will not be a Christian’s friend either. The world hates Christ living in us just as it despised Christ living during His earthly ministry!

We Christians face great opposition. Wanting the world’s acceptance, our sin nature gravitates towards mimicking the world’s actions. Satan takes full opportunity of this, encouraging us to live in rebellion against God’s will for our lives. Lest we be condemned for being “Bible nuts,” we are intimidated to keep silent about God’s Word. At this point, we have abandoned the grace life for the disgraceful life.

In today’s Scripture many of Israel’s “chief rulers” had trusted in Jesus as their Messiah-King. Fearing the unbelieving Pharisees would belittle and ostracize them, and loving “the praise of men more than the praise of God,” these believing chief rulers kept silent about their salvation. Sadly, they were unwilling to lose their social standing for Jesus Christ!

Daily, we Christians feel peer pressure to believe the world’s foolishness, go where the world goes for “entertainment,” and converse like the world speaks. Our sin nature wars inside each of us, fighting against the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 7:24,25; Galatians 5:16,17).

If you let the Holy Spirit do His mighty work in you, expect the criticism. Be willing to risk it all for Jesus Christ. We may lose “friends,” our jobs, even our lives, but we have a far better inheritance in heaven. Saints, never will we receive “the praise of men” for being King James Bible grace believers, but we do have what matters most—“the praise of God.” We walk by faith, content in that regard.

Seeing the World With a New Perspective

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6 KJV).

Yesterday, after 10 days of being unable to use one of my eyes, I was exuberant to hear and “see” the world from a new perspective. As it is in the physical world, so it is in the spiritual world. Just as infection rendered one my physical eyes useless, and thus my being unable to see with it, so sin renders man’s spiritual eyes useless.

Several passages in the Bible use the word “darkness” to describe lost mankind in his natural spiritual blindness (for instance, Psalm 69:23; Isaiah 9:2; Isaiah 60:2; Matthew 4:16; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:21; Romans 2:19; Romans 11:10; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Ephesians 4:17-19; Ephesians 5:8; 1 Peter 2:9-10). In this the Dispensation of Grace, Israel’s spiritual eyes are temporarily blinded (Acts 13:6-11; Romans 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:14-16).

The heart of a lost (unsaved) person is totally dark, spiritually blinded. A lost man’s spirit is dead, unable to function and commune with God (1 Corinthians 2:9-16). He knows nothing about God and avoids God.

Suddenly, the glorious light of God’s Word shines brightly, penetrating that callous, dim soul. As that lost soul hears and believes the Gospel of Grace—how that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)—it is regenerated and “quickened” (made alive; Ephesians 2:1,5). God’s Holy Spirit illuminates that soul so that it realizes what it never knew before: it was destined for hell, but by God’s grace, it is now “alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:11).

Before we trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, our souls (minds) were dark. Now that we are in Christ, the indwelling Holy Ghost teaches us through His written Word that which we knew not in our natural (lost) state (1 Corinthians 2:9-13; Ephesians 1:17,18). We “see” the world from a new perspective—God’s perspective.

The Self-Righteous Unrighteous Made Righteous

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8 KJV).

Religion—from the Latin “religio,” meaning “to bind anew”—is man’s futile attempt to make himself right with God. Mankind naively believes that his religious performance makes him “righteous,” in good standing before God. This is actually self-righteousness.

We cannot work for our salvation because we always break the simplest rules of God’s Word (one lie, one curse word, one evil thought, and so on). Our sin prevents us from reaching God’s standard of righteousness (“rightness”). Compared to church members, atheists seem evil. Little, sweet elderly ladies appear to be less sinful than prison inmates. While you appear less sinful than others, others appear less sinful than you! Still, we are all guilty sinners in God’s eyes and according to God’s standards.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “There is none righteous, no, no one” (Romans 3:10). We are not perfect. No matter what we do, our performance may exceed others’, but it will never be good enough for God.

Yet, today’s Scripture declares the wonderful news—before we lied, stole, coveted, and cursed, Jesus Christ died to save us wicked, unrighteous humans. The Lord Jesus Christ bore our sins on Calvary’s cross. He died to save us wretched humans because we all fell short of God’s glory. None of us could fulfill God’s righteous standards (the Ten Commandments, for instance).

God did not die for the righteous, but for the self-righteous unrighteous. Why? Only because He loves us, despite our evil deeds! Praise God that we can now inherit eternal life by trusting in the finished cross work of Jesus Christ. We can now be made “the righteousness of God in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Through Christ’s cross work on Calvary, the self-righteous unrighteous are made righteous.

Cunning Craftiness

Monday, October 10, 2011

“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Ephesians 4:14 KJV).

The Greek word translated “cunning craftiness” in today’s Scripture is utilized four other times in God’s Word.

  • Jesus knew the “craftiness” of those who were trying to trick Him (Luke 20:23).
  • The Bible says, “He [God] taketh the wise in their own craftiness” (1 Corinthians 3:19).
  • In 2 Corinthians 4:2 Paul writes, “But [we] have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the world of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”
  • The Bible says (2 Corinthians 11:3): “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent [Satan] beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

God created Lucifer (Satan) “full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12). Satan is so intelligent he could manipulate Eve to question and doubt God’s Word: “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made” (Genesis 3:1). Satan is a smooth-talking individual just like today’s charismatic, “feel-good” message preachers!

Satan has devised extremely sneaky plans. He will use men of high religious standing, including “church fathers,” preachers, and seminary professors. Satan will use what you least expect him to use—that which appears innocent and godly. He has been operating this counterfeit program for 6,000 years. It is downright amazing to see how cunning Satan’s deception actually is!

Satan’s greatest achievement in deceiving the Body of Christ is producing corrupt Bible manuscripts (and their English counterparts). Avoid the modern Bibles (NIV, NASB, NKJV, ESV, NRSV, HCSB, TEV/GNB, et cetera): these are the greatest false teachers of all. You can only trust the King James Bible. Be not “tossed to and fro.” Believe the King James Bible rightly divided, and you will not fall prey to Satan’s “cunning craftiness.”

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

Sunday, October 9, 2011

“After this manner therefore pray ye:… Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11 KJV).

The so-called “Lord’s Prayer”—more aptly, the “Our Father Prayer”—has nothing to do with us in this the Dispensation of Grace. Its contents do not apply to our dispensation. However, the “Our Father” prayer is very appropriate in Israel’s kingdom program, its context. Our Apostle Paul tells us that if we want to eat, we must work (2 Thessalonians 3:10)! Yet, according to today’s Scripture, the Jews are to pray for daily bread rather than work for it (cf. Luke 11:3). Why?

Understand that the “bread” of today’s Scripture correlates with the manna (bread) that God rained down from heaven in Israel’s history. For the 40 years of wilderness wanderings, the LORD feed Israel with manna and quail (Exodus 16:4-36; Numbers 11:4-35; John 6:31,32). God miraculously feeding Israel will occur again, future from our present-day.

In the middle of the seven-year Tribulation, at least 42 months after the rapture, the antichrist will break his covenant with Israel (Daniel 9:27). At this time, according to Matthew 24:15-21, God warns a believing remnant of Jews living in Jerusalem to flee into the wilderness of the Jordan River valley (north of Jerusalem). He tells them to take nothing with them: no food, no clothes, nothing.

According to Revelation 12:6, “the woman” (the believing remnant of Jews) flees into the wilderness, “where she hath a place prepared of God, that they [the Godhead] should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” Just as God fed Israel in the Old Testament, He will miraculously feed these Jews hiding from the antichrist! This “hidden manna” of Revelation 2:17 will rain down for the last 42 months of the seven years.

We have no reason to pray the “Our Father” prayer because we do not depend on God for our daily food. The Jews of Revelation 12:6 will be unable to work for their food, so God will honor their faith and feed them. Wow, it makes sense, unlike religion’s vain repetitious “Lord’s Prayer,” huh?