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Reference:
Bible Believer's Handbook
The Bible Believer's
Helpful Little Handbook
Copyright 1997
James L. Melton
Published by Bible Baptist Church, Sharon, TN
| NOTE:
This handy reference is available in a printed version. It
is 42 pages and measures only 4" X 7". It is an excellent
"quick" and inexpensive resource for distribution. It covers
a lot of material in a few pages. It is available from
James L. Melton. A
twenty-five cent donation per booklet is appreciated, but
not required. More information on ordering tracts from
Brother Melton is at the end of this tract.
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I see no need for an introduction, so let's go ahead and get
started. What is an
agnostic? An agnostic is a person who takes a position of
uncertainty toward God and the
Bible. These people have no real convictions, for they know nothing
for sure. Most agnostics
have had more education than the rest of us, and they usually have a
rather high opinion of
themselves and their "open-mindedness." In Acts 17:22-23, the
Apostle Paul addressed some
agnostics at Athens who had erected an alter to "THE UNKNOWN GOD."
Paul said they were "too superstitious."
Christianity is not a religion of uncertainty. We have an
absolute Final Authority with absolute
answers. For example, see John 14:6, Job 19:25, II Timothy 1:12, I
Peter 1:18, and I John 5:13.
Return to the Index (Top of Page)
This is the false belief that there will be no millennium--no one
thousand year reign of Christ and
His saints on earth. Revelation 20:1-7 plainly tells us that there
WILL be a millennial reign. Other
interesting references can be found in II Timothy 2:11-13, Luke
19:17-19, and Revelation 5:10 (just to name a few).
Angels are "ministering spirits," according to Hebrews 1:14, and
their primary purpose is to wait
on God. Angels were created prior to man's existence (Job 38:4-7),
and as supernatural beings,
they are far superior to you and me (Psa. 8:5). All angels in the
Bible are of the masculine gender,
and none appear to have wings.
Not all angels belong to the Lord. Some of the angels have fallen
(Jude 6-7, Gen. 6:1-4, II Pet. 2:4),
and more will fall in the future (Rev. 12:4-9). Even Satan himself
can be transformed into an "angel
of light," according to II Corinthians 11:14. Therefore, we are told
in I John 4:1 to TRY the spirits.
This false teaching is very popular with people like the
"Jehovah's Witnesses," who do not believe
in a literal and eternal lake of fire for the punishment of the
wicked. Annihilation is the belief that the
wicked will be totally destroyed at some point in the future, and
that no ETERNAL place of torment
exists. The Lord Jesus Christ believed otherwise (Mat. 25:41; Luk.
16:24).
This is a future individual who will be fully possessed and
motivated by Satan himself. He will
dictate a common world religion, a world government, and a world
economy (Rev. 13; II
Thess. 2:3-4; Rev. 19:19), and he will MURDER those who refuse to
conform to his evil system.
The antichrist is known in scripture as the "little horn" (Dan.
7:8), the "son of perdition" (II Ths.
2:3), the "beast" (Rev. 13), the "king of the north" (Dan. 11:6),
and the "prince that shall come" (Dan. 9:26).
Antichrist and his followers will be destroyed by the Lord Jesus
Christ at the second Advent of our Lord.
An apostasy is a "falling away" from a standing position. Paul wrote
in II Thessalonians 2:3 that a great falling away, or apostasy,
would occur in the last days, just preceding our Lord's return. We
have lived to see this prophecy fulfilled, for man has fallen
further away from God in the past fifty years than at any other time
since the time of Christ. Apostasy can be found most anywhere you
look, especially in religion, education, politics, the media, and in
music.
In Mark 16:17-18, Jesus said to the Apostles, "And these signs shall
follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils;
they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and
if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall
lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
Because of their inability and refusal to rightly divide the word
of truth (II Tim. 2:15), the Charismatic's operate under the false
assumption that these signs are still in effect today and that it is
THEIR duty to fulfill them. This is why we have charlatans like Oral
Roberts and Jim Baker living in mansions and begging people for
money.
In their haste to make a dollar, the Charismatic's consistently
ignore the fact that Jesus said these were SIGNS, and that I
Corinthians 1:22 tells us that SIGNS are for the JEWS. Israel began
with signs (Rom. 4:11; Exo. 4:8 ,9, 17, 23, 28, 30; 7:3; 8:23;
10:1-2; 13:9; 31:13, 17; Deu. 4:34; 6:22), lived by signs (Deu.
11:18; Jos. 4:6; I Sam. 10:7; II Kgs. 19:29; Isa. 7:14; 38:7, 22;
Eze. 4:3; 20:12, 20), and demanded signs from Christ (Mat. 12:38;
24:3). [ADVICE TO READERS: Everything that can be misunderstood WILL
be misunderstood when you fail to check references.] There is more
scripture to support the doctrine of signs being for Israel than
there is to support the Virgin Birth and the Inspiration of
Scripture combined! Anyone who ignores this truth is absolutely
unqualified to teach, preach, or write anything about the Apostolic
Signs. If you'll take a look at Hebrews 2:3-4 you will see that the
signs were used to CONFIRM the word of God, and you will also see
that the signs are spoken of in the PAST TENSE. They are also spoken
of in the past tense in II Corinthians 12:12. Those who insist that
we should practice the signs today because they were practiced
throughout the New Testament haven't been reading (or believing)
their Bible. They were not practiced throughout the New Testament.
In fact, Paul left Trophimus SICK at Miletum (II Tim. 4:20); he gave
Timothy medical advice instead of healing him (I Tim. 5:23), and he
had infirmities of his own from which he could not be healed (II
Cor. 11:30; 12:5-10). Now why all this sickness if the Apostolic
Signs were still in effect? Answer: They WEREN'T still in effect,
because they were only needed in the early ministry of the Apostles
for the purpose of confirming the truth to Israel.
Now we firmly believe that God can still work miracles and heal
anyone He chooses, and we believe that the prayers of God's people
can move Him to work miracles, but let's not confuse answered
prayers with Apostolic Signs, because there's a vast difference. We
believe in healing; we just don't believe in healers.
You say, "Well what about speaking in unknown tongues through the
Holy Ghost? Do you deny that people today speak in unknown tongues?"
No, of course not. People have spoken in unknown tongues for
thousands of years. Ever read Genesis 11? Was that an outpouring of
the Holy Ghost? When the Church of Satan speaks in unknown tongues
(which they do), is that a work of the Holy Ghost? When a
psychologist can have you blubbering in unknown tongues within
fifteen minutes, is that an outpouring of the Holy Ghost? You see,
too many people have the idea that if something is highly abnormal
or miraculous that it MUST be of God. The coming Antichrist will
have a field day with such feeble minded people, because HE will
work such "signs and lying wonders" that the entire world will
follow after him (II Ths. 2:8-12; Rev. 13:13-14).
Nowhere in the New Testament did God command anyone to speak with
unknown tongues. We do read about "new tongues" (Mar. 16:17), "other
tongues" (Acts 2:4) and "divers kinds of tongues" (I Cor. 12:10),
but these are all FOREIGN LANGUAGES, not senseless gibberish! There
are no unknown tongues in Acts 2, and there is no baptism of the
Holy Ghost in I Corinthians 14. Instead of rightly dividing the word
of truth, the careless Charismatic's wrest the scriptures to their
own destruction by ignoring the set divisions and doctrines that the
Holy Spirit has inspired in the scriptures. The Apostolic Signs are
not for today, because they were only for confirming the word of God
to the unbelieving Jews in the first century. The Bible warns us to
beware of anyone who professes to practice these signs today (II
Cor. 11:13-15; Mat. 7:15; 24:11; I Tim. 4:1-2), and the Lord
commends the church at Ephesus for trying out some professing
apostles and finding them to be LIARS (Rev. 2:2).
The word comes from Revelation 16:16, and it means "the hill of
Megiddo" or "the city of Megiddo." Megiddo is a battlefield in
Palestine, which was the sight of Barak's victory over the
Canaanites (Jgs. 4:15), and also Gideon's victory over the
Midianites (Jgs. 7). King Saul dies here (I Sam. 31:8), which is
probably a foreshadow of the future destruction of Antichrist and
his evil forces in the coming great battle.
Atheism is the false and very foolish belief that there is no God
(Psa. 14:1; Rom. 1:20). Like agnostics, most atheists have been
educated beyond their intelligence.
This is the act of sliding backward rather than pressing forward
"toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus" (Phi. 3:14). The term actually comes from Jeremiah chapter
three where God's people are called backsliders because of their
willingness to slide back into their sins. Today we often refer to
unfaithful Christians as backsliders.
A baptism is an IMMERSION. A person who has been baptized is a
person who has been immersed in something, because that's what the
word means.
Many have the idea that all baptisms are WATER baptisms, but this
isn't true. In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist speaks of THREE
different baptisms in one verse. He mentions WATER baptism, HOLY
GHOST baptism, and FIRE baptism. One gets you wet, one gets you into
the body of Christ, and one gets you into Hell! There's more than
one kind of baptism, so we need to avoid using the word too loosely.
A person is baptized by the Holy Ghost the very moment they
receive Christ as Lord and Savior (I Cor. 12:13). This particular
baptism is a SPIRITUAL baptism, and it should never be confused with
WATER baptism (although it usually is). This spiritual baptism can
be found in I Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 4:5, Romans 6:3-4, and
Galatians 3:27. It is not a water baptism, for water baptism places
no one into the body of Christ. A person is saved by grace through
faith (Eph. 2:8-9). Paul said that Christ sent him not to baptize,
but to preach the gospel in I Corinthians 1:17, and "the gospel"
does NOT include water baptism (I Cor. 15:1-4).
Does this mean that water baptism isn't important? No, it does
not. Water baptism is very important, for it pictures the death, the
burial, and the resurrection of Christ. I Peter 3:21 tells us that
it is a "figure." Obedient Christians will submit to water baptism,
but they should never confuse it with their salvation. Remember, the
repentant thief was saved WITHOUT being baptized in water (Luk.
23:42-43), and the eunuch of Acts chapter eight wasn't permitted to
be baptized until he first BELIEVED on Christ (Acts 8:37-38).
This is the false doctrine that water baptism actually regenerates
the dead spirit in lost man and produces the new birth. The Bible
says that the spirit of God does this--not water (I Cor. 12:13).
Pagans have believed in this doctrine for thousands of years--even
before the time of Christ. It has absolutely no part in
Bible-believing Christianity.
This is the spiritual baptism that we've just mentioned. It is a
MIRACULOUS baptism, performed by the Lord Himself.
Most Charismatic groups teach that a person receives the Holy
Ghost sometime AFTER they've received Christ as Savior, but this is
plain heresy. Romans 8:9 tells us that a person does not even belong
to Christ if that person doesn't have the Spirit of God, so
salvation and the baptism of the Holy Ghost are SYNONYMOUS, not
separate.
The coming Antichrist and his evil empire are referred to as "the
beast" throughout the Book of Revelation.
To "believe" in the Bible is to fully rely on God's word. True
belief is much more than mental assent, because even the devils
believe mentally (Jas. 2:19). Bible belief involves conviction and
commitment. A person who truly believes on Christ is a person who
has fully RECEIVED Christ (Jhn. 1:12). To believe on Christ is to
totally rely on HIM ALONE for salvation (Jhn. 3:16, 36; 5:24; 6:47;
11:25-26; Acts 16:30-31; Rom. 4:5; 10:9-10; I Jhn. 5:10-13; Gal.
3:22; I Ths. 2:13).
The word means "book." When we say, "the Bible," we are actually
saying "the Book." See Inspiration of Scripture.
The Blood Atonement of Jesus Christ is one of the fundamental
doctrines of Christianity. It is the doctrine that the blood of
Jesus Christ, the sacrificial Lamb of God, was shed to atone for the
sins of lost mankind (Jhn. 1:29; Heb. 9:22), and that this sinless
blood was applied to the mercy seat of God the Father in Heaven
(Heb. 9:11-12). All of the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament
FORESHADOWED the Blood Atonement of Christ. The innocent animal that
was slain in Eden for Adam and Eve's covering (Gen. 3:21) pictured
the slaying of our Lord Jesus Christ for our sins. Abel's accepted
offering, the firstlings of his flock (Gen. 4:4), was also a type of
the Blood Atonement of Christ. There are many pictures of the Blood
Atonement in the Bible, but probably the greatest is found in Exodus
chapter twelve, where God REDEEMS His people by the BLOOD of the
Passover lamb.
Today, with the completed Blood Atonement behind us, all sinners
have access to God THROUGH Jesus Christ, and through Him alone. Acts
20:28 says that God PURCHASED the church "with his own blood."
Revelation 1:5 assures us that Christ can WASH us from our sins in
His blood. Romans 5:8-9 says that we are JUSTIFIED by His blood, and
we can have PEACE through His blood, according to Colossians 1:20.
Salvation was made possible, not by the DEATH of Christ alone, but
by His Blood Atonement which takes away our sins.
Jesus was the first to use this term, and He used it to stress the
necessity for lost mankind to see his need for a second birth (Jhn.
3:3). Our first birth was physical, but our spirit remained dead in
God's sight. When a person receives Christ as Savior, he is BORN
AGAIN, for his dead spirit is made alive, or "quickened" (Eph. 2:1).
The Holy Spirit takes up residence inside the new believer (Eph.
4:30) and gives him a new life in Christ (Gal. 2:20; II Cor. 5:17).
Every real Christian has been born again, and no one has been born
again who is not a Christian. Also see I Peter 1:23.
A Calvinist is a person who subscribes to the theological beliefs of
John Calvin, the Swiss Protestant reformer of the sixteenth century.
There are five main points in Calvinism, four of which are false
teachings. The five points of Calvinism are usually represented by
the letters T.U.L.I.P.
The "T" is for TOTAL DEPRAVITY. This is the false doctrine that
man is so depraved that he cannot even see his sinful condition and
call upon God for salvation. It is true that all men are natural-
born sinners (Rom. 3:23; 5:12; Psa. 51:5), but it is also true that
God COMMANDS all men to repent and receive Christ (Acts 17:30-31; I
Jhn. 3:23; Luk. 13:3). Man is indeed depraved, but he isn't so
depraved that he has no free will of his own (II Pet. 3:9; Jn. 1:12;
3:16; Jos. 24:15; Exo. 35:5, 21, 22, 29). Total Depravity is heresy.
"U" stands for UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION, which is a heresy derived
from perverting verses like Ephesians 1:4-5 and Romans 8:29. The
Calvinists believe that God predestinated everyone way back before
Genesis 1:1, totally ignoring their free will to choose for
themselves. That is, He supposedly decided who would go to Heaven
and who would go to Hell long before anyone was even born. If you'll
read Romans 8:29 and I Peter 1:1-2 you'll see that God's election is
based on FOREKNOWLEDGE. He didn't elect to save or damn anyone
against their free will. God knew all along who would choose Christ
and who would not, and He made His "elections" based on that
information.
Then we have the "L" for LIMITED ATONEMENT. This is the belief
that only a limited number of people can be washed from their sins
in the precious blood of Christ, because only "the elect" will be
saved anyhow. The idea is that Christ loved the church and gave
Himself for it (Eph. 5:25); so the blood of Christ was only shed for
the church. This is foolishness. I Timothy 2:6 says that Christ gave
Himself a ransom for ALL, not just the elect. ALL have sinned (Rom.
3:23); so He died for ALL, and He saves "as many as" receive Him.
The "I" stands for IRRESISTIBLE GRACE, which is also false
doctrine. This teaching says that God the Holy Spirit overpowers the
sinner and grants him the new birth without his submission or
positive response. As we've already seen, man DOES have a free will
and no one is saved without CHOOSING to believe on Christ as Lord
and Savior. There is no such thing as irresistible grace. God has
given us all the ability to resist anyone or anything we choose
(Acts 7:51; II Tim. 3:8; Jas. 4:7). There are times when the
convicting power of the Holy Spirit is so strong and real that a
sinner sees no choice but to give in to God and receive Christ as
Savior, but the sinner always has a choice. No one is saved against
their will, and no one is saved without first choosing to receive
Christ.
The last letter is "P," which represents the PERSEVERANCE OF THE
SAINTS. This is the only point in "T.U.L.I.P" which is scripturally
sound. Once a sinner receives Christ, he is predestinated to be
conformed to Christ's image (Rom. 8:29). That is, as Christians, we
are eternally secure and cannot lose the salvation which God has
freely given us. Also see Eternal Security.
Capital Punishment, commonly referred to as the "death penalty," is
very scriptural. From the very beginning, God has required LIFE FOR
LIFE. The death penalty is first mentioned in Genesis 9:6, long
before the law of Moses was given, and it stays on God's law books
throughout the Bible (Exo. 21:12; Num. 35:16-31; Rom. 13:1-4; Acts
25:11). As you can see from Acts 25:11 and Romans 13:1-4, the death
penalty is still God's will for today. God has given man the
responsibility of enforcing the death penalty, and justice has not
been served until it has been enforced.
The Charismatic Movement is a twentieth century religious movement
(Assemblies of God, Pentecostals, Full Gospel Fellowships, etc.)
which majors in teaching false doctrines about the ministry of the
Holy Ghost, tongues, healing, and signs. Rather than winning the
lost to Christ, the Charismatic's spend most of their time
questioning the spirituality and sanctity of other Christians.
Charismatic's are very big on inner "feelings," but very small on
scriptural facts. Paul stated it best in II Corinthians 11:4 when he
said that these people have "another Jesus," "another spirit," and
"another gospel." These are very dangerous people. They may look
nice, talk nice, and sometimes even sing nice, but their doctrines
are DEADLY.
A Christian is one who truly believes on Christ as Savior. The
disciples were first called "Christians" at Antioch (Acts 11:26). A
Christian is not someone who professes Christ, but rather someone
who POSSESSES Christ as Lord and Savior.
The word literally means "called out assembly," so the church
consists of people who have been called out of this world.
The church is not an organization, but rather an ORGANISM. That
is, it's a living body of believers. Anyone who has been saved by
receiving Christ as Savior is a member of the church, for the church
is made up of all true believers in Christ. A person's
denominational membership is in no way connected with his membership
in the body of Christ. Those who have truly received Christ are
members of His church, regardless of what any denomination believes
or says (Jhn. 1:12; Acts 16:31; Jhn. 5:24; Mat. 11:28; Rom. 10:13.
etc.).
Beware of anyone who speaks of THEIR church as being the "true
church," because the true church is a SPIRITUAL BODY OF BELIEVERS IN
CHRIST, not an organized group of religious people. The Bible will
sometimes use the term "church" when referring to local assemblies
of Christians (Rom. 16:5; I Cor. 1:2; I Ths. 1:1; Phi. 2), but the
term is never a reference to any denomination or any building.
To confess is to admit something, and it's usually something about
yourself. It is the duty of all sinners to confess their sinful
condition and forsake their sins by receiving Jesus Christ as their
Savior (Pro. 28:13; Mat. 10:32; Rom. 10:9-10). Christians are told
to confess their sins in order to obtain forgiveness and to maintain
fellowship with God (I Jn. 1:9). Sins are to be confessed TO THE
LORD, not to any human being (including Mary), for the Lord Jesus
Christ is the One mediator between God and men (I Tim. 2:5).
A person's conscience is basically his inner awareness. God gave us
our conscience to keep us aware of the things that can harm us, as
well as the things that can help us. It is our job to keep our
conscience pure (I Tim. 1:5; 3:9; II Tim. 1:3). When a person
doesn't feed his conscience with spiritual things, such as the word
of God, prayer, and witnessing, he is in danger of DEFILING his
conscience (Tit. 1:15), SEARING his conscience (I Tim. 4:2), and
rendering it WEAK (I Cor. 8:7). Our conscience is a lot like our
alarm clock: it's no good unless we keep it set and working
properly.
There are none. There are many APPARENT contradictions in the Bible,
but each can be explained with a careful and prayerful study,
comparing scripture with scripture. All scripture is given by
inspiration of God (II Tim. 3:16), and God does not inspire
contradictions and confusion (I Cor. 14:33).
To covet is to have a longing for something, and it's usually a
longing for something that you don't need. Christians should
practice CONTENTMENT, not covetousness (Phi. 4:11; I Tim. 6:6-8;
Heb. 13:5). The Lord Jesus spoke of covetousness as being one of the
thirteen evils of the heart (Mar. 7:21- 22), and He commands us to
"beware of covetousness" in Luke 12:12. Paul says in Colossians 3:5
that covetousness is IDOLATRY. We, as Christians, need to set our
affection on THINGS ABOVE, not on the things of this earth,
according to Colossians 3:2.
This is the doctrine that the earth and all the universe were
literally created by an intelligent Being. Genesis 1:1 says, "In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth." John 1:3 tells us
that "All things were made by him . . . " Colossians 1:16 says, "For
by him were all things created . . ." Then Hebrews 1:3 says that God
actually MADE THE WORLDS by Jesus Christ.
Jesus, of course, believed in literal creation, and He tells us
so in Mark 13:19. The theory of Evolution is contrary to God, Jesus
Christ, and the Bible.
The Deity of Christ is the doctrine that Jesus Christ is GOD. God is
a Trinity (I Jn. 5:7), and the second Member of that Trinity is the
Lord Jesus Christ. John 1:1 says that "the Word was God," and John
1:14 tells us that "the Word was made flesh." Jesus Christ is the
Word incarnate, and John 1:1 tells us that the Word was God; so
Jesus Christ is God.
Jesus allowed Thomas to address Him as "My Lord and my God" in
John 20:28. In Isaiah 9:6 He is called "The mighty God" and "The
everlasting Father," and we read in Micah 5:2 that Jesus is "from
everlasting."
Our Lord allowed people to worship him in John 10:38 and in
Matthew 14:33, and since He is "God with us" (Mat. 1:23), He also
has power to forgive sins (Mk. 2:5).
The Deity of Christ is one of the main fundamentals of the
Christian faith, because the Bible is very clear in emphasizing the
fact that Jesus Christ is more than just a great man. He existed
long before He came to this earth to be born of a woman, because He
is ETERNAL. He's God.
The Holy Ghost is also Deity, for He's the third member of the Holy
Trinity (I Jn. 5:7). In Acts 5:3- 4 Peter accuses Ananias of lying
to the Holy Ghost, and in doing so, he tells him that he had lied to
GOD. The Holy Ghost is God. The Holy Ghost says in Acts 13:2 that He
had CALLED Barnabas and Saul, which only God could do, and He does
many other things that only God could do (Jhn. 14:16, 26; 16:8-14;
Job 33:4; Psa. 104:30; I Cor. 6:11; Eph. 1:13, 4:30, etc.). The Holy
Spirit is OMNIPRESENT (Psa. 39:7-8), OMNISCIENT (I Cor. 2:10-11),
and ETERNAL (Heb. 9:14). He inspired the scriptures ( II Pet. 1:21),
and He gives life (Jhn. 6:63; 3:6). The Holy Spirit is God, for only
God could perform such tasks.
Demons are called "devils" in the Bible. Although we are not certain
about their origin, many believe they are DISEMBODIED SPIRITS from
the Pre-Adamite earth, which was probably drowned out after the fall
of Lucifer (II Pet. 3:6; Gen. 1:2; Isa. 14:12-15).
We know that these devils are UNCLEAN SPIRITS, for the Bible
tells us so in Matthew 8:16 and Mark 5:12-13. There is one who is
THE Devil, and he has many "devils" under his command (Mar. 5:9;
Luk. 9:1, 11:15; Jas. 2:19). According to the words of Jesus in
Matthew 12:43-45 these devils desire to inhabit human bodies, and
Mark 5:11-13 tells us that they can even inhabit the bodies of
animals. They can do great harm by causing much sickness and
suffering (Mat. 9:18-22, 32-33; 12:22; Luk. 8:26- 35; 13:11-17), and
they can also SEDUCE a person to lie and teach false doctrine (I
Tim. 4:1; I Kgs. 22:22-23). Some people are so influenced by evil
spirits that the Bible terms them as being "possessed" with devils
(Mat. 4:24; Mar. 5; Acts 8:7). Of course, the greatest defense
against demonic influence is always the word of God and prayer (Mat.
8:16; Eph. 6:10-18).
The word is found in I Corinthians 9:17, Ephesians 1:10, Ephesians
3:2, and in Colossians 1:25. A dispensation is basically a period of
time in which God DISPENSES to man (or to nations) certain
responsibilities, and He rewards or judges man for fulfilling or not
fulfilling his responsibilities.
There are seven major dispensations in the Bible, and each has a
different set of responsibilities for man to fulfill. Each of the
seven also ends with failure and judgment. The seven are as follows:
- Innocence--from Adam's creation to Adam's fall.
- Conscience--from the fall of Adam to the Flood.
- Human Government--from the Flood to the Tower of Babel.
- Family (Promise)--from Abraham to Moses.
- Law--from Moses to Christ at Calvary.
- Grace--from Calvary to the Second Coming.
- Righteousness--the 1000 year kingdom of Christ.
The study of dispensations is a matter of "rightly dividing the word
of truth" (II Tim. 2:15). Major confusion and heresy can erupt when
dispensational divisions are ignored. For example, no one can please
God today by keeping the law of Moses, because Jesus Christ is the
END of the law for everyone who believes (Rom. 10:4; Jn. 19:30; Col.
2:14). A definite division must be made between Law and Grace, and
this same rule applies to all dispensations.
A doctrine is simply a Bible truth, any Bible truth. Doctrine is the
primary reason for the inspiration of the scriptures (II Tim.
3:16-17), and it should be the objective of any serious Bible study.
A sincere Bible student will always ask, "What saith the scripture?"
(Rom. 4:3) not "What does my church teach?" or "What is the standard
interpretation?" According to the Apostle Paul, we need to give
attendance to DOCTRINE (I Tim. 4:13), or we will end up with
"doctrines of devils" (I Tim. 4:1). Also see Isaiah 8:20.
This is a wicked twentieth-century unity movement of religious
modernists and liberals. It is Satan's desire to unite the world so
that all will be in subjection to the coming Antichrist (Rev. 13:3;
12:9); therefore, religious unity is considered a must. Most
ecumenical's have no real convictions, and they generally deny the
fundamentals of Christianity and the infallibility of scripture. The
Pope, quite naturally, is the chief ring leader. One might call the
ecumenical movement a modern-day "Tower of Babel" movement. Like
Babel, the movement will soon end with the intervening judgment of
God (Zep. 3:8; Mat. 13:40).
The Eternal Security doctrine is the "once saved, always saved"
doctrine that so many people have trouble believing, because it just
doesn't sound logical.
Actually, it is VERY logical and very scriptural as well. My
eternal security in Christ is based on my RELATIONSHIP with God, not
my fellowship with Him. I am not saved because I fear God and serve
Him, but rather because I have entered into a Father/Son
relationship with Him through the Lord Jesus Christ. I was once a
child of the Devil and a child of wrath (Jn. 8:44; Eph. 2:3), but
now I am a son of God (Jhn. 1:12; I Jhn. 3:2; Rom. 8:14; Gal. 4:5).
Upon receiving Christ as my Savior, I was SEALED with the Holy
Spirit until the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30; II Cor. 1:22), and I
am KEPT by the power of God (I Pet. 1:5), not by my own power. Jesus
will never leave me nor forsake me (Heb. 13:5; Mat. 28:20), because
He BOUGHT me with His own blood (Acts 20:28; I Cor. 6:19-20).
If I choose to be a disobedient child, then my Father in Heaven
will CHASTEN me (Rev. 3:19; Heb. 12:4-8; I Cor. 11:30-32), but I
will remain a saved and sealed son of God (Jhn. 5:24; I Jhn.
5:11-13; Rom. 8:38-39; Phi. 1:6; Jhn. 6:37; 10:28-29). I am
eternally secure in Christ (even if you aren't going to check the
references).
""Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen." (Heb. 11:1) Faith is simply believing without
seeing, and it is impossible to please God without it (Heb. 11:6).
We are SAVED by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8), and we are to LIVE
by faith (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 2:20). Jesus told Thomas, ". . . blessed
are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (Jhn. 20:29)
Why? Because that's faith, and it pleases God. Our faith will one
day END in SIGHT, when Jesus returns (Acts 1:11; I Ths. 4:13-18),
but our faith is not BASED on sight. It is based on the written word
of God (I Jhn. 5:10-13). Faith is also a fruit of the Spirit in
Galatians 5:22.
A false prophet is one who falsely predicts future events. I John
4:1 tells us that there are MANY false prophets in the world, just
as the Lord Jesus Christ prophesied in Matthew 24:11.
False prophets deceive people with miracles (Mat. 24:24; Rev.
13:14), good words and fair speeches (Rom. 16:17-18), and of course,
just down right lying (Jer. 14:14). False prophets generally have a
very positive outlook toward man, unity, love, science, education,
integration, and world peace, but they have a very negative view
toward the infallibility of scripture, salvation by faith in Christ
alone, the Blood Atonement, the Deity of Christ, and the
Pre-millennial Second Coming of Christ. Isaiah 8:20 and Deuteronomy
18:20-22 are great verses to keep in mind when trying to discern
between true and false prophets. Also remember Matthew 7:20:
"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."
This is something that America knows very little about, or, as Paul
wrote in Romans 3:18, "There is no fear of God before their eyes." A
person who fears God is a person who lives a humble and obedient
life before God, always being mindful of the fact that God is HOLY
and He will not overlook sin. Psalm 111:10 says, "The fear of the
LORD is the beginning of wisdom." According to Proverbs 15:16,
"Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and
trouble therewith." No matter how educated or wealthy a man may be,
if he doesn't fear God he is FOOLISH and POOR. Solomon said, ". . .
. Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of
man." ( Ecc. 12:13)
A man who fears God has no one else to fear, but a man who fears
not God has everyone to fear. Putting God first and fearing Him
above all is the key to a happy and fulfilling life. Also see Psalm
118:6, Matthew 10:28, and Proverbs 29:25.
Wrongfully called "pre-marital sex" and "free love" by the worldly
crowd, fornication is the act of intercourse between unmarried
partners, and it is strictly forbidden in the scriptures. The
marriage bed is undefiled (Heb. 13:4), but fornication is an
abomination in the sight of God (Rom. 1:28-29; I Cor. 6:13- 20, 7:2,
10:8; Gal. 5:19-21). We read in I Corinthians 6:9-10 that
fornicators will not inherit the kingdom of God.
A Gentile is anyone who isn't a Christian or a Jew (I Cor. 10:32).
In the Old Testament a Gentile was anyone other than a Jew, for
there were no Christians around then.
God is the One Almighty Being Who created all people, places, and
things (Gen. 1), so He is SUPERIOR to all people, places, and
things.
Even Satan and his evil hosts are subject unto God, and they can
do nothing without His permission (Job 1:6-12, 2:1-6; Isa. 14:12-15;
Zec. 3:1-2; Mat. 4:3-11; Col. 2:13-15; Rom. 16:20; I Cor. 8:5-6).
God has many wonderful attributes. Just to mention a few, He is
eternal (Psa. 90:2), holy (Isa. 6:3; I Sam. 2:2), righteous (Ezr.
9:15), just (Deu. 32:4), longsuffering (II Pet. 3:9; Exo. 34:6),
loving (I Jhn. 4:7-8), jealous (Nah. 1:2), merciful (Deu. 4:31; Psa.
103:8), omniscient (Job 34:22; II Chr. 16:9), omnipresent (Psa.
139:7-10), and omnipotent (Job 42:2; Jer. 132:27).
God has revealed Himself to man in three ways: through nature
(Psa. 19:1-4; Rom. 1:20), through the written word (Pro. 22:20; II
Pet 1:20-21; II Tim. 3:16-17), and through the Lord Jesus Christ
(Heb. 1:2; Jhn 1:1, 14, I Tim. 3:16).
God's will for man today is that all will repent of their sins
and receive the Salvation that is freely offered through Jesus
Christ. Beware of anyone who speaks of God without speaking of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
According to I Corinthians 15:1-4, "the gospel" today is the good
news that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and then rose again
the third day according to the scriptures. This gospel is to be
"obeyed" by BELIEVING on it (Rom. 10:16), not by getting baptized,
as some teach.
Grace is basically unmerited favor--God's choosing to love us, save
us, and bless us while we are yet in our sins. Because of grace, we
can receive something for nothing. Ephesians 2:8-9 says that we are
SAVED by grace, and John 1:14 tells us that the Lord Jesus was full
of GRACE and TRUTH. Someone has said that grace is God's Riches At
Christ's' Expense.
The word is also used in reference to the present dispensation in
which we live, the "dispensation of the grace of God" (Eph. 3:2).
It is also our Christian duty to manifest grace toward others in
our Christian walk, just as the Lord has been gracious toward us
(Eph. 4:7, 29; Col. 4:6).
This term was first used by the Lord Jesus Himself in Matthew 24:21.
The Great Tribulation is a period of time in the very near future in
which God will pour out His accumulated wrath upon the earth's
inhabitants.
The Book of Revelation has a great deal to say about the Great
Tribulation in chapters six through nineteen. The wicked son of
Satan (Antichrist) will rise to power and rule the world, demanding
worship from everyone (Rev. 13). The Tribulation will be about seven
years in length, with the latter half being the worse by far (Rev.
11:3; 13:5). Antichrist and his followers will be destroyed by the
Lord Jesus Christ at the Second Coming (Rev. 19:11-21).
Christians will not have to endure the Great Tribulation , for we
are not appointed to wrath according to I Thessalonians 1:10 and
5:9. We will be "caught up" to be with the Lord before the
Tribulation starts (I Ths. 4:13-18; I Cor. 15:51-52).
The Tribulation Period is primarily a Jewish dispensation in
which God takes up dealing with Israel as a nation, preparing the
Jews as a people to receive Christ. It is the seventieth week of
Daniel 9:24-27, and Jeremiah 30:7 refers to this time as the "time
of Jacob's trouble." After suffering much misery and persecution
during the Great Tribulation, Israel will turn to Christ for
salvation (Isa. 66:7-8; Rom. 11:26; Deu. 4:30-31).
When you hear someone use this term, or when you hear them use the
terms "the Greek text," or "the original Greek," or "the original
manuscript," be careful because you have come in contact with
someone who spends a great deal of time playing an old children's
game known as make believe. There is no such thing as "the Greek
text," and no one living today has ever seen "the original Greek"
because it hasn't existed since it fell apart many centuries ago.
Usually when a man makes reference to "the Greek," he is having
trouble believing what God has already told him in THE ENGLISH.
There are over 5000 PIECES of manuscript evidence available, which
have been found in different places, but there is no "original
manuscript" in existence. No one knows what the "original" says,
because no one has it, and no one living today has ever seen it.
(See Romans 1:22 for further comment.)
In Mark 16:17-18, Jesus said to the Apostles, "And these signs shall
follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils;
they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and
if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall
lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
Because of their inability and refusal to rightly divide the word
of truth (II Tim. 2:15), the Charismatic's operate under the false
assumption that these signs are still in effect today and that it is
THEIR duty to fulfill them. This is why we have charlatans like Oral
Roberts and Jim Baker living in mansions and begging people for
money.
In their haste to make a dollar, the Charismatic's consistently
ignore the fact that Jesus said these were SIGNS, and that I
Corinthians 1:22 tells us that SIGNS are for the JEWS. Israel began
with signs (Rom. 4:11; Exo. 4:8 ,9, 17, 23, 28, 30; 7:3; 8:23;
10:1-2; 13:9; 31:13, 17; Deu. 4:34; 6:22), lived by signs (Deu.
11:18; Jos. 4:6; I Sam. 10:7; II Kgs. 19:29; Isa. 7:14; 38:7, 22;
Eze. 4:3; 20:12, 20), and demanded signs from Christ (Mat. 12:38;
24:3). [ADVICE TO READERS: Everything that can be misunderstood WILL
be misunderstood when you fail to check references.] There is more
scripture to support the doctrine of signs being for Israel than
there is to support the Virgin Birth and the Inspiration of
Scripture combined! Anyone who ignores this truth is absolutely
unqualified to teach, preach, or write anything about the Apostolic
Signs. If you'll take a look at Hebrews 2:3-4 you will see that the
signs were used to CONFIRM the word of God, and you will also see
that the signs are spoken of in the PAST TENSE. They are also spoken
of in the past tense in II Corinthians 12:12. Those who insist that
we should practice the signs today because they were practiced
throughout the New Testament haven't been reading (or believing)
their Bible. They were not practiced throughout the New Testament.
In fact, Paul left Trophimus SICK at Miletum (II Tim. 4:20); he gave
Timothy medical advice instead of healing him (I Tim. 5:23), and he
had infirmities of his own from which he could not be healed (II
Cor. 11:30; 12:5-10). Now why all this sickness if the Apostolic
Signs were still in effect? Answer: They WEREN'T still in effect,
because they were only needed in the early ministry of the Apostles
for the purpose of confirming the truth to Israel.
Now we firmly believe that God can still work miracles and heal
anyone He chooses, and we believe that the prayers of God's people
can move Him to work miracles, but let's not confuse answered
prayers with Apostolic Signs, because there's a vast difference. We
believe in healing; we just don't believe in healers.
You say, "Well what about speaking in unknown tongues through the
Holy Ghost? Do you deny that people today speak in unknown tongues?"
No, of course not. People have spoken in unknown tongues for
thousands of years. Ever read Genesis 11? Was that an outpouring of
the Holy Ghost? When the Church of Satan speaks in unknown tongues
(which they do), is that a work of the Holy Ghost? When a
psychologist can have you blubbering in unknown tongues within
fifteen minutes, is that an outpouring of the Holy Ghost? You see,
too many people have the idea that if something is highly abnormal
or miraculous that it MUST be of God. The coming Antichrist will
have a field day with such feeble minded people, because HE will
work such "signs and lying wonders" that the entire world will
follow after him (II Ths. 2:8-12; Rev. 13:13-14).
Nowhere in the New Testament did God command anyone to speak with
unknown tongues. We do read about "new tongues" (Mar. 16:17), "other
tongues" (Acts 2:4) and "divers kinds of tongues" (I Cor. 12:10),
but these are all FOREIGN LANGUAGES, not senseless gibberish! There
are no unknown tongues in Acts 2, and there is no baptism of the
Holy Ghost in I Corinthians 14. Instead of rightly dividing the word
of truth, the careless Charismatic's wrest the scriptures to their
own destruction by ignoring the set divisions and doctrines that the
Holy Spirit has inspired in the scriptures. The Apostolic Signs are
not for today, because they were only for confirming the word of God
to the unbelieving Jews in the first century. The Bible warns us to
beware of anyone who professes to practice these signs today (II
Cor. 11:13-15; Mat. 7:15; 24:11; I Tim. 4:1-2), and the Lord
commends the church at Ephesus for trying out some professing
apostles and finding them to be LIARS (Rev. 2:2).
Heaven is a literal place beyond the northern regions of our
universe (Psa. 48:2; 75:6-7; Isa. 14:13; Eze. 1:4-5). It is a pure
and holy place which has never been touched by the curse of sin and
death. It is the actual abode of God and all His mighty hosts (Mat.
6:9; 22:30; 26:53; Jhn. 14:1-3; Rom. 8:34; Rev. 19:11-14).
Revelation chapters 21 and 22 speak of the city New Jerusalem
coming down from God OUT of Heaven. This will be the glorious home
of all saints in eternity. It will be a place of happiness and
peace, a place without tears, death, sorrow, crying, pain, or hunger
(Rev. 7:16; 21:4). Heaven is the fulfillment of every human need,
but one can only go there through the Blood of Jesus Christ. Paul
tells us in Colossians 3:2 that this is where our affection should
be today; we should be homesick for Heaven. As the song says, "This
world is not my home, I'm just passing through!"
Hell is a literal burning place in the center of the earth. It is
NOT the grave, as many cultists teach, for no one BURNS in the grave
as they do in Hell (Luk. 16:23-24; Deu. 32:22; Mar. 9:43-48). Hell
was originally prepared for the Devil and his angels (Mat. 25:41),
but, since man chose to enter the domain of sin and death, Hell has
become his place of torment as well. We read in Revelation 20:14
that Hell will eventually be cast into the "lake of fire."
For those who are opposed to "hell fire preachers, " you may find
it interesting to note that "hell fire" was first used by none other
than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (Mat. 5:22; Mar. 9:47). It isn't
God's will that anyone should go to Hell (II Pet. 3:9), but He will
certainly allow all who reject Christ to go there.
A heresy is a departure from truth, a false doctrine propagated by
false prophets and teachers (also known as "heretics"). II Peter 2:1
warns us about "damnable heresies." However, the presence of
heresies should not surprise us, because I Corinthians 11:19 says,
"For there must be heresies among you, that they which are approved
may be manifest among you." That is, the light of God's truth shines
even brighter among heresies. According to II Timothy 2:15, we are
supposed to STUDY and RIGHTLY DIVIDE the word of truth in order to
be "approved."
The Holy Ghost is also Deity, for He's the third member of the Holy
Trinity (I Jn. 5:7). In Acts 5:3- 4 Peter accuses Ananias of lying
to the Holy Ghost, and in doing so, he tells him that he had lied to
GOD. The Holy Ghost is God. The Holy Ghost says in Acts 13:2 that He
had CALLED Barnabas and Saul, which only God could do, and He does
many other things that only God could do (Jhn. 14:16, 26; 16:8-14;
Job 33:4; Psa. 104:30; I Cor. 6:11; Eph. 1:13, 4:30, etc.). The Holy
Spirit is OMNIPRESENT (Psa. 39:7-8), OMNISCIENT (I Cor. 2:10-11),
and ETERNAL (Heb. 9:14). He inspired the scriptures ( II Pet. 1:21),
and He gives life (Jhn. 6:63; 3:6). The Holy Spirit is God, for only
God could perform such tasks.
A person who has humility is a person who thinks of himself no
higher than he ought to think (Rom. 12:3). Jesus said that we are to
become "as little children" in Matthew 18:3. We must gladly humble
ourselves in the sight of God, trusting Him to exalt us in due time
(Col. 3:12; Jas. 4:6, 10; I Pet. 5:6). Proverbs 15:33 says, ". . .
.before honour is humility."
Idolatry is basically the act of worshipping anything or anyone less
than God. When we allow anything or anyone to come between us and
God, we are guilty of idolatry. Many have the idea that idolatry can
only be committed by worshipping material objects such as graven
images, planets, stars, or by worshipping people or animals.
However, the Bible informs us that a BAD HEART ATTITUDE can be
idolatry (I Sam. 15:23; Col. 3:5). God knows our hearts, and if He
doesn't have FIRST PLACE, then we are guilty of idolatry.
Imputed righteousness is the righteousness of Jesus Christ which has
been imputed, or ACCOUNTED, to the new believer. When one forsakes
his self-righteousness and fully believes on Christ, God imputes the
righteousness of Christ to that individual (Rom. 4:5-8). Our sins
were placed upon Christ (II Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13), and His
righteousness is placed upon us when we receive Him as Savior by
faith.
When we speak of the Inspiration of Scripture, we are speaking of
the fact that the Bible is like no other book in the world. Other
writings convey the thoughts of men, but the Bible is a divine
revelation from God. Men were instrumental in reducing the
scriptures to print, but men did not author the scriptures. The
Bible tells us the following in II Peter 1:20-21: "Knowing this
first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of
man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost." This is commonly called VERBAL INSPIRATION. II Timothy 3:16
tells us that ALL scripture is GIVEN by inspiration of God. That is,
it was inspired of God the moment it was SPOKEN, and then the spoken
word was reduced to writing by appointed scribes (II Sam. 8:17;
20:25; II Kgs. 19:2; 22:3; I Chr, 24:6; Ezr. 7:6; Jer. 36:10, 12,
32; 37:15; Mat. 8:19; 15:1; 17:10; Luk. 5:30; Luk. 11:44; Acts
23:9).
There are some very strong proofs for the inspiration of
scripture. I've chosen to list five of them:
- The Bible is a UNIQUE Book. The Bible plainly CONDEMNS the
human race! The Bible says that all have sinned, man at his best
state is altogether vanity, we are condemned already, and that
only Jesus Christ can save us. What man would write a Book like
that? It was obviously written by Someone OTHER than man.
- The Bible is also different in that it is an AUTHORITIVE
Book. The Author of the Bible generally says, "I'm right and
everyone else is wrong" (Isa. 8:20; Jn. 14:6). Man needs an
absolute Final Authority, and the Bible professes to be the
authority. No other Book is as authoritive as the Bible.
- The Bible is an INFALLIBLE Book. It contains no mistakes.
What other ancient writing contains over 700,000 words with no
mistakes?
- It's a BLESSED Book. God USES the Bible. Millions have come
to know Christ through the written word, and millions have found
immeasurable joy between its covers. Many great Christian works
have been founded and used for many years with the Bible being
the authority, and many Christians have found great comfort and
peace in it's promises. God has BLESSED us through the Bible.
Why would He do this if it wasn't His inspired word?
- The Bible is a PRESERVED Book. With all of the opposition
that the Bible has faced over the centuries, why does it still
exist? Why hasn't someone been successful in destroying it?
There's only one answer: Psalm 12:6-7.
This word first occurs in Genesis 32:28, and it means "having power
with God." Jacob was renamed "Israel" after his wrestling match with
the angel of God, but the term is used throughout the Bible in
reference to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--the Jews.
God made a covenant with Abraham which included making of Abraham's
descendants a great and blessed nation with a national homeland
(Gen. 12:2; 15:18-20). It was God's desire to be glorified on a
national scale by His chosen people, and to bring forth the Messiah,
the Savior of the world, through this chosen people. The Jews
rejected Christ and were dispersed among the Gentile nations of the
world in the first century A.D., but in this twentieth century God
has led them back to their Palestinian homeland, established them as
an independent nation (1948), and will soon judge them severely
during the Great Tribulation, immediately preceding the Second
Coming of Christ. The nation of Israel will be converted to Jesus
Christ and the Jews will fulfill the original plan of God in the
coming millennial reign (Jer. 23:5-8; Eze. 37:21-25; Amos 9:14-15;
Acts 15:14-17; Rom. 11:26-27; Isa. 66:7-8).
The word "Jesus" implies "Savior" and "Christ" means "anointed one."
Therefore "Jesus Christ" is God's ANOINTED SAVIOR. He is the virgin
born Son of God (Isa. 7:14; Mat. 1:23) who was born into this world
to be the sinless sacrifice for the sin of the world (Jhn. 1:29;
Rev. 13:8). His birth, life, ministry, and crucifixion were all
pre-planned in the heart of God, and He was obedient unto death
(Phi. 2:8). Jesus lived a sinless life and gave Himself as a payment
for the sins of the world. He was resurrected for our justification
(Rom. 4:25), and He is currently seated at the right hand of God as
our high priest and mediator (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 3:1; 10:12; I Tim.
2:5). He will soon return to this earth to receive His saints unto
Himself (Jhn 14:1-3), and to take over the kingdoms of this present
evil world (Rev. 11:15-17; 19:11-21). Until then, all who believe on
Him may have eternal life and enter into the glories of Heaven. Also
see Deity of Christ.
A Jew is any descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
There are many different judgments in the scriptures, and only by
rightly dividing the word of truth can anyone make the proper
distinctions. We shall briefly cover four of them:
- The Judgment of Sin. Sin was judged at Calvary when Christ
bore the sins of the world. God's judgment on sin was poured out
on Christ at Calvary (Gal. 3:13; II Cor. 5:21; Col. 2:14).
- The White Throne Judgment. Sinners who reject Christ will
die in their sins and go directly to Hell (Lk. 16:22-23). After
the millennial reign of Christ, Death and Hell will be delivered
up before the White Throne Judgment. Sinners will be judged
according to their works. At this point they will realize that
their works are unacceptable to God and they will be cast into
the eternal lake of fire (Rev. 20:11- 15). There MAY also be
some people at this judgment from the Tribulation and
Millennium, but no Christians will be judged here ( We have a
separate judgment.). In fact, Christians will be ASSISTING the
Lord in this judgment (Dan. 7:10; I Cor. 6:2).
- The Judgment Seat of Christ. This judgment is mentioned by
name in Romans 14:10 and in II Corinthians 5:10. It is a special
judgment for Christians only, a judgment where we will be judged
for our Christian service and rewarded. According to I
Corinthians 3:11-15, some Christians will suffer great LOSS of
rewards as well.
- The Judgment of Self. Paul tells us in I Corinthians 11:31
to judge ourselves so that we won't be judged. This involves
CONFESSION and REPENTANCE. It is my Christian duty to confess my
sins to the Lord and ask His forgiveness (I Jn. 1:9). As long as
I do this, God doesn't have to judge me, because I've already
confessed my sins and they are under the blood of Christ.
However, if I choose to continue in sin, then God has to step in
and judge me because I'm His child.
Justification is a divine act where God declares a sinner to be
sinless, or just, in His sight. This, of course, is made possible
through the finished work of Christ at Calvary (Acts 13:39; Rom.
3:24-28; 5:1, 9; 8:30). As many preachers say, "I've been justified,
and it's just if I'd never sinned!"
According to Romans 14:17 and Luke 17:21, this is a SPIRITUAL
kingdom which is presently within the hearts of God's people. Those
who have received Christ as Savior have been translated spiritually
into this great kingdom (Col. 1:13; Eph. 1:3; 2:6). As a Christian,
I am already in the Kingdom of God and it is in me.
Most immediately assume that this kingdom is the same as the Kingdom
of God, but it isn't. Just as God and Heaven are not the same, the
Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are not the same. God is
spiritual (Jhn 4:24), while Heaven is God's physical creation (Gen.
1:1). Hence the Kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom, while the
kingdom of Heaven is a literal and physical kingdom. God gave Adam
dominion over this kingdom in Genesis 1:28. It's an earthly kingdom,
but it was God's will for it to be run "as it is in heaven" (Mat.
6:10). As the Old Testament continues, we find God appointing
different men over this physical kingdom (Noah, Abraham, David,
Solomon, etc). Evidently, the Kingdom of Heaven departed in Jeremiah
chapter 22, when God swore than no descendant of Coniah would
prosper sitting upon the throne of David. This ushered in the "times
of the Gentiles" (Luk. 21:24) with the Babylonian captivity. Then
came the kingdoms of the Medes and Persians, then the Greeks, then
the Romans. According to Luke 4:6, Satan is in charge of these
worldly kingdoms, and he gives them to whomever he wishes. II
Corinthians 4:4 says that he is the "god of this world."
Then came GOD'S King, the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the
Jews, the Messiah. The Jews knew that God had promised them a
kingdom (Gen. 49:10; Isa. 2:1-5; Isa. 49:5-13; Psa. 2; Jer. 23:5;
Luk. 1:30-33, etc.). John the Baptist and Jesus both preached that
the kingdom of heaven was at hand (Mat. 3:2; 4:17), but the Jews
REJECTED their King and chose a GENTILE king instead (Jhn. 19:15).
Therefore the kingdom was NOT restored to Israel. After the
resurrection, the disciples asked Jesus if He was now going to
restore the kingdom to Israel (a literal, physical, and visible
kingdom--the Kingdom of Heaven), and He said, ". . . . It is not for
you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in
his own power." (Acts 1:6-7) They were not asking Him to restore the
SPIRITUAL Kingdom of God (Rom. 14:17), for they never had it to
start with! They'd never been born again by the Spirit of God! They
wanted THEIR kingdom back--the literal and physical Kingdom of
Heaven.
Now, when Jesus returns the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of
Heaven will actually become one, but let's not make the mistake of
thinking that they're the same now. One is spiritual, while the
other is physical.
This term refers to the King James Authorized Version, the Book that
God uses and the Devil hates. It was originally translated under
King James I of England between the years 1604 and 1611. The King
James Bible is an English translation from the "Textus Receptus" or
"Received Text" of the reformation. This means that the KJV is
supported by NINETY-FIVE PERCENT OF ALL MANUSCRIPT EVIDENCE. All
other translations are based on the remaining five percent evidence.
Most people (including Bible college professors) have been led to
believe that the new translations, such as the ASV, the NIV, the
RSV, and the NASV are just revisions of the old King James Bible.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
All new translations are based on the Westcott and Hort Greek
Text (wrongly referred to as "THE Greek Text" by people who enjoy
playing make believe). Westcott and Hort were two English "scholars"
who spent the late 1800's communicating with evil spirits and
perverting the word of God by fooling around with corrupt Roman
Catholic manuscripts. All new translations are based on the work of
these two men; so all true Bible-believers avoid the new versions.
The King James Bible is from a whole different text , known as
the Byzantine or Syrian type text, which comes from a line of
manuscripts that run clear back to Antioch, Syria, which just
happens to be where the disciples were first called "Christians"
(Acts 11:26). God has honored this text throughout Church History,
throughout the Protestant Reformation, and since 1611, He has been
honoring the King James Bible by saving millions and millions of
lost souls with it's preaching and teaching. It is the Book of all
Books, because it is the pure and preserved word of God for the
English speaking people. (For more information on this subject, send
for our tracts titled How I Know the KJV is the Word of God and
Let's Compare Bibles.)
The "law" is usually a reference to the Old Testament written law of
Moses. It consisted of three basic divisions: commandments,
judgments, and ordinances. The commandments revealed God's will to
the nation (Exo. 20:1-26), the judgments governed Israel as a
society (Exo. 21:1-24:11), and the ordinances governed the religious
practices of Israel (Exo. 24:12-31:18). The primary purpose of the
law was not to save man, but to show man his sinful condition and
his need for a Savior (Rom. 3:20). Paul says that the law was a
"schoolmaster" to bring us to Christ in Galatians 3:24.
Today we are under GRACE, "For Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to everyone that believeth." (Rom. 10:4) Also see
Matthew 5:17.
The Lord's Supper was instituted by Christ Himself the night
preceding His crucifixion (Mat. 26:26- 29; Mar. 14:22-25). Jesus
says in Luke 22:19-20 that we are supposed to observe the Lord's
Supper in remembrance of Him and it is a showing of His death until
He returns, according to I Corinthians 11:23-26.
Some insist that the Lord's Supper should be a weekly observance,
but the Bible never says this. The words "as oft as" in I
Corinthians 11:26 indicate that God allows us to decide for
ourselves how often to observe the Lord's Supper.
The Roman Catholics have traditionally held that the Lord's
Supper is a continual sacrifice of Christ, and that one literally
partakes of Christ's flesh and blood in the Catholic Mass (their
perversion of the Lord's Supper). This, of course, is unscriptural
(Heb. 10:10-14; Acts 15:29; Psa. 16:4; Lev. 17:11- 12; Gen. 9:4).
God has never commanded anyone to drink blood. He has always
condemned such practice.
The Mark of the Beast is mentioned in Revelation 13:17, 16:2, and
19:20, and it is closely connected with the number and name of the
Beast (13:17-18; 15:2; 14:11). The Beast, the coming Antichrist,
will cause the people of the world to receive this mark in their
right hands or in their foreheads, thus showing their conformity to
his evil world system. Those who refuse this mark will be killed
(Rev. 13:15; 20:4).
No one knows exactly how the Mark of the Beast will come about,
but with modern technology being so advanced, many believe that it
will somehow be connected with computers and scanning devices. A
person could have a permanent bar code or computer chip placed in
their skin. This system could even replace credit cards and checking
accounts. This would help to give Antichrist the economic control
that the Bible says he will have.
Catholics have been obsessed with this idolatrous practice since the
fourth century. Devout Roman Catholics believe that Mary, the mother
of Jesus, remained a virgin and remained sinless all of her life.
She is worshipped in the Catholic church as the "Mother of God" and
the "Queen of Heaven." St. Bernard stated that she was crowned
"Queen of Heaven" by God the Father, and that she currently sits
upon a throne in Heaven making intercession for Catholics.
The Bible teaches otherwise. In the Bible, Mary was a sinner just
like the rest of us. She said herself that she needed a "Savior"
(Lk. 1:47), and she even had to offer a sacrifice for her sins in
Luke 2:24. Jesus was only her "firstborn" son, according to Matthew
1:25, because she later had other children as well (Mt. 13:55; Gal.
1:19; Psa. 69:8). There's only ONE mediator between God and men, and
it isn't Mary (I Tim. 2:5). The last time we hear from Mary in the
Bible she is praying WITH the disciples, not being prayed to BY the
disciples (Acts 1:14).
Roman Catholic Mary Worship is nothing more than Pagan Idolatry.
Throughout history pagans have worshipped female deities under
various names, and many of them are in the Bible (Judges 10:6; I
Sam. 7:3-4; 12:10; I Kings 11:5; II Kings 23:13, etc.), including
the "queen of heaven" (Jer. 44:16-25). Mary is nothing more than a
sinner saved by grace, whom God chose to use as a means of bringing
His Son into this world. The Bible never exalts her above anyone
else. Neither should we. If you are a Roman Catholic, perhaps you
should give special attention to Mary's only command in John 2:5.
The Mass is a Roman Catholic perversion of the Lord's Supper where
members take part in a pagan ritual--actually attempting to eat and
drink the literal flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. This is strictly
forbidden in the word of God (Gen. 9:4; Lev. 17:11-14; Psalm 16:4;
Acts 15:29).
The word means "thousand years." The Millennium is the coming
one-thousand year reign of Christ and His saints. Revelation 20:1-6
speaks of this reign as being a literal, physical, and visible reign
on earth. The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and He will rule the world in righteousness.
Those who choose to suffer for Christ today will reign with Him
in the coming Millennial Kingdom (II Tim. 2:11-13; Lk. 19:12-19).
Also see Isaiah 2:2-4, 9:6, 11:1-6, Psalm 2:1-8, Luke 1:32, and
Zechariah 14:16-19.
The church was commissioned by the Lord Jesus Himself to carry the
Gospel into all the world (Mat. 28:18-20); so the term "missions" in
Bible believing churches refers to the efforts being put forth by
Christians to fulfill our Lord's command. Although there are many
missionary works right here in America (prison ministries, street
preaching ministries, printing ministries, etc.), most missionary
efforts are directed to the foreign mission field.
Most churches have a missions account where Christians can give
love offerings to help missionaries. If you are not currently giving
to missions, perhaps you should speak to your pastor about your
church's mission program and missionaries. You can read about the
missionary journeys of the apostle Paul in Acts 13-28, and he has
some good advice about giving to missions in Philippians 4:10- 19.
Also see II Corinthians 9, Matthew 10:40-42, and Luke 6:38.
Everyone knows what music is, but many seem to have trouble
discerning good music from bad music. Therefore we've included this
brief section (at no extra charge) to assist such people in making
this tough decision. In the Bible, good music sounds nice and gives
praise and honor to God (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; I Sam. 16:23; I
Chron. 23:5; Psa. 150; Rev. 5:8-10), but bad music sounds like "a
noise of war" and it gives praise and honor to FALSE gods (Exo.
32:17-19; Dan. 3:5-7). Good music may be accompanied by clean
segregated dancing (Exo. 15:20-21; Ecc. 3:4; Psa. 150:4), but bad
music is likely to be accompanied by dancing which stirs sexual
passions (Mat. 14:6). If you have trouble deciding whether your
style of music and dancing is good or bad, just ask yourself two
simple questions: (1)" Would Jesus Christ listen to this music?" and
(2)"Would He dance the way that I'm dancing?" You see, it's really a
very simple issue when you put it in the "proper perspective."
The New Age Movement is a modern-day movement which seeks to bring
about a "new age" where all peoples, religions, and governments
unite for the "common good" of mankind. Like the Ecumenical
Movement, the New Age Movement will culminate with a one world
religion and government under the leadership of the Antichrist (Rev.
13). Some Christians have the idea that they are safe from New Age
doctrines so long as they avoid various New Age groups. This is not
true. Satan is very subtle, and his New Age philosophies can be
found just about anywhere. New Age ideas can be found in politics,
education, music, the media, religion, and even in new Bible
translations (See Riplinger's book on New Age Bible Versions.) The
best defense against Satan's one-world movement is the word of God
and prayer. The Christian who continually gives himself to Bible
study and prayer will always recognize Satan's devices when they
appear, no matter where or when they appear. As far as I'm
concerned, any attempt to unite mankind on any basis other than the
word of God and the Lord Jesus Christ is a part of the New Age
Movement.
Jesus was the first to use this term, and He used it to stress the
necessity for lost mankind to see his need for a second birth (Jhn.
3:3). Our first birth was physical, but our spirit remained dead in
God's sight. When a person receives Christ as Savior, he is BORN
AGAIN, for his dead spirit is made alive, or "quickened" (Eph. 2:1).
The Holy Spirit takes up residence inside the new believer (Eph.
4:30) and gives him a new life in Christ (Gal. 2:20; II Cor. 5:17).
Every real Christian has been born again, and no one has been born
again who is not a Christian. Also see I Peter 1:23.
To persecute someone is to treat them wrongfully because of who they
are or what they believe. The Bible says in II Timothy 3:12 that all
Christians who will live godly in Christ shall suffer persecution,
and Jesus Himself tells us to rejoice when this happens because
great is our reward in heaven (Mat. 5:10-12). We are to EXPECT
persecution and we are told to BLESS those who persecute us (Mat.
5:44; Rom. 12:14).
This is the false belief that the millennial reign of Christ will be
ushered in by the Church and that Jesus will not return until AFTER
the earth has experienced one thousand years of peace and
righteousness. This, of course, is pure foolishness. Man has never
established peace and righteousness and he never will. The
Pre-Millennial view of the Second Coming is the only correct view.
Praise is basically any expression of approval, admiration, or
devotion. To get a good idea of what praising God is all about, read
a few chapters of the book of Psalms. The word is found over one-
hundred and fifty times in Psalms alone. Hebrews 13:15 says that we
should use our lips to offer praise to Him continually.
Prayer is a matter of simply asking for something. Prayer should be
addressed to God the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, by the
power of the Holy Ghost (Jhn. 16:23-24; Acts 12:5; Jhn. 14:13; Eph.
6:18; Jud. 1:20), and prayers should always be PRAYED, not merely
SAID (Mat. 6:7).
A child of God should pray for his own needs or desires (Jas.
4:2; Mar. 11:24; Luk. 11:9-13), as well as the needs and desires of
others (Luk. 10:2; Col. 1:9; I Ths. 5:17-25; I Tim. 2:1-5; Jas.
5:14).
There are also conditions of prayer, such as having a FORGIVING
SPIRIT when we pray (Mar. 11:25), BELIEVING that God will answer our
prayers (Mar. 11:24; Jas. 1:6-7), CONFESSION of any iniquity in our
hearts (Psa. 66:18), SEEKING GOD'S WILL (Luk. 22:42), and KEEPING
HIS COMMANDMENTS (I Jhn. 3:22).
Paul said in I Thessalonians 5:17 for us to pray without ceasing.
Also see I John 5:14-15, John 15:7, Matthew 7:7-8, James 5:16, Psalm
55:17, Philippians 4:6, 19, and Hebrews 4:16.
This is the Bible doctrine that Jesus Christ will literally return
to the earth just before the promised millennial reign of Revelation
20:1-7, and that He will establish the Kingdom and reign over it
Himself. We know this is true for His Second Coming occurs in
Revelation 19, and the millennial reign immediately follows in
chapter 20. This is the only correct view of the millennial reign.
A propitiation is a price which is paid to meet a demand or to
settle an account. The Bible says that the Lord Jesus Christ is the
propitiation for our sins (Rom. 3:25; I Jn. 2:2; 4:10). He paid the
price for our Salvation. God the Father was pleased with Christ's
sacrifice, so He is our one and only propitiation.
This word isn't found in the Bible, but it does describe a Biblical
event. "Rapture" is from the Latin word "rapto," which means to
"cease quickly" or to "cease by force." The resurrection of the New
Testament church (I Cor. 15:51-52; I Thess. 4:13-18) is commonly
referred to as "the Rapture" because of the sudden nature in which
it occurs.
To redeem someone is to set them free by paying a price. Jesus
Christ has set Christians free by shedding His own blood as a
payment for our sins. Our souls have already been redeemed (Acts
20:28; Rom. 3:24; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; Gal. 3:13; I Pet. 1:18; Rev.
5:9), and our bodies will be redeemed when the Lord returns for us
(Rom. 8:23; Eph. 4:30; Lk. 21:28).
A regeneration is a renewing or a new birth. The word occurs only
twice in the Bible. The first time is in Matthew 19:28 where the
context is the new birth of the earth when Jesus returns (Isa.
11:6-9; Rom. 8:21-23), and the next occurrence is in Titus 3:5 where
the context is the new birth of the believer by the Holy Spirit.
When the Bible speaks of a child of God having "remission of sins"
(Mt. 26:28; Lk. 24:27; Acts 10:43; Rom. 3:25), it is speaking of the
FORGIVENESS of sin that we have through the shed blood of Christ.
This is very similar to redemption, but not exactly the same. For
example, the Old Testament saints had their sins forgiven, or
remitted, through the blood of animal sacrifices (Lev. 4:20; 26, 31,
35; 5:10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7, Num. 15:25-26; Psa. 130:3-4), but when
they died they still couldn't go to Heaven because their souls had
not been REDEEMED. Their sins had been forgiven on a temporary
basis, so that they might maintain fellowship with God, but their
sins had not been totally cleared from God's record (Num. 14:18; Ex.
34:7) because it was impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to
TAKE AWAY sin (Heb. 10:4). Therefore, upon death, these saints went
to "Abraham's bosom" or "paradise" in the earth's center (Luk.
16:22; 23:43). Here they waited for Christ the Redeemer to come and
make the final payment for all sin. He did so, and then led these
saints on up into Heaven (Eph. 4:8-9; Mat. 27:52-53). God would
forgive sin in the Old Testament on the basis of animal sacrifices
(remission), but these sacrifices all foreshadowed the Lord Jesus
Christ Who would be the One Sacrifice to take away all sin forever
(redemption).
When a person repents, he changes his mind about something and
proceeds in a different direction. God commands all sinners to
repent of their sins and turn to Him for salvation (Acts 17:30-31;
Luk. 13:3). A person who truly repents is a person who will (1)
Become saddened about their sins (II Cor. 7:9-10; Psa. 51), (2)
forsake their sins (Mt. 3:8; Acts 26:20), and (3) submit themselves
to the will of God (Acts 9:6). Anything less is something less than
Biblical repentance.
A resurrection is a "re-living," a "renewal", or a" rising again"
from the dead. The Bible says that there will be a resurrection for
all of the saints of God (Mat. 22:30; Luk. 14:14; Jhn. 11:24-25; I
Cor. 15:51-52; I Ths. 4:13-18), but there is no general resurrection
in the Bible. Unsaved people will be delivered up before God at the
White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15), but there will be no
Christians resurrected at this time. The resurrection for God's
people is called the "first resurrection" (Rev. 20:5-6), and it
occurs before the Lord Jesus establishes the millennial reign of a
thousand years. Actually there are THREE PARTS to the first
resurrection. The first is the resurrection of Old Testament saints
which occurred when Jesus was resurrected (Mat. 27:52-53; Eph.
4:8-9). The second will be the rapture of the church, which we've
already covered. Then the third part will be during the Tribulation
Period when God calls out those who are saved in the Tribulation
(Rev. 7:14; 14:14-16). A great deal is said about the resurrection
in I Corinthians 15.
Sanctification is the act of being set apart from sin and
uncleanliness AND being set apart for God's service. My soul was
sanctified the day I received Christ as my Savior (Acts 20:32; I
Cor. 1:2; 6:11; Heb. 10:10, 14), but it is my personal
responsibility to keep my BODY in subjection to God and live a
sanctified life (Rom. 6:1-13; II Cor. 6:14-17). That is, since I AM
a saint (one who is sanctified), I need to live like one.
Sanctification isn't just a matter of not sinning (If it was, then
your local cemetery would be the most sanctified place in your
community, because it is filled with people who NEVER sin. They're
DEAD.) True sanctification is turning FROM sin and turning TO God (I
Ths. 1:9).
The word literally means "the adversary." To some, Satan is only a
symbol of evil, but in the Bible he is a literal living being who
walks about seeking to deceive and to devour (Jhn. 8:44; Jas. 4:7;
Rev. 12:9; I Pet. 5:8 ). There are five basic points that need to be
understood about the past, present, and future of the Devil, and if
you understand these five things, then you'll be light years ahead
of the typical twentieth century "theologian." The five points are
as follows:
- Satan has not always been God's adversary. He was originally
"the anointed cherub" of Ezekiel 28:13-19 and "Lucifer" of
Isaiah 14:12-15, but through his own pride he fell from this
honorable position and became God's greatest enemy, the
adversary, or Satan.
- Contrary to popular belief, Satan was NOT cast into Hell
when he rebelled against God. He is presently the "god of this
world" (II Cor. 4:4), "the devil" (Mat. 4:1; Eph. 4:27; I Pet
5:8), and "the prince of the power of the air" (Eph. 2:2). As
such, he is currently in control of the kingdoms of this world
and he gives them to whomever he chooses (Mat. 4:8-9). He'll
stop short of nothing in his attempts to deceive and destroy
anything or anyone who stands on God's side (Job 1-2; Mat.
4:1-10; 13:19, 39; Luk. 22:31; Acts 5:3; I Cor. 5:5; II Cor.
11:14-15; I Thess. 2:18; I Tim. 5:15; Heb. 2:14; I Jn. 3:8). The
Christian's greatest defense against the Devil is the word of
God and prayer (Eph. 6:10-18; I Ths. 5:17; Mat. 26:41; Heb.
4:12).
- In the coming Great Tribulation, Satan will actually indwell
a human body as the Antichrist. He will have the entire world in
his evil clutches, and he will murder anyone who opposes him (II
Ths. 2:3-10; Rev. 13:3-18). See Antichrist, Beast, and Great
Tribulation.
- During the millennial reign of Christ and His saints, Satan
will be chained for one thousand years in the bottomless pit
"that he should deceive the nations no more." After the
Millennium is over, he will be turned loose for a "little
season" (Rev. 20:1-3.
- The Devil's final position will be his eternal position in
the Lake of Fire. Revelation 20:10 tells us that he will be cast
into the "lake of fire" and tormented forever.
The Second Coming of Christ is a prophetic event which will occur in
the very near future. Just as Jesus came the first time as a
literal, physical, and visible person, He will come likewise the
next time. Some teach that the Second Coming is not a literal event,
but the Bible states very clearly that it is. When Jesus came the
first time He came as the "Lamb of God" to take away the sin of the
world (Jhn. 1:29), but at the Second Coming He will come as the
"Lion of the tribe of Judah" and the "KING OF KINGS" (Rev. 5:5;
19:16). He turned down the kingdoms of this world the first time
(Mt. 4:8-10), but He will take full control of them when He returns
(Rev. 11:15).
The Old Testament is filled with prophecies about the Lord
establishing a righteous kingdom upon the earth with Israel being
the head of all nations (Gen. 49:10; Jer. 23:5; 25:30-31; Isa.
2:2-4; 11:1- 6; 42:13-14; Joel 3:16-21; Ezek. 36-48; Psa. 2:1-8;
Zech. 14:16-21; Mal. 4:1-3; etc.). These prophecies were not
fulfilled at Christ's first coming, so they will be fulfilled when
He comes again. Many are teaching that these prophecies are no
longer in effect because the Jews rejected Christ their King, so
these prophecies are all spiritualized or allegorized for the
church's benefit. This is heresy. All of these prophecies and many
more like them are still in effect and will be fulfilled when Jesus
returns. If you'll take a close look at Acts 1:6-7, 15:14-16,
Hebrews 8:8-10, Romans 11:25-26, Luke 1:31-33, Revelation 6:12-17,
and Revelation 19:11-16 you can easily see that God has not
forgotten about His Second Coming prophecies. It is God's will for
His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to rule over the earth in
righteousness. For six thousand years man has been in control, and
man has proven that he is totally incapable of establishing peace
and righteousness. At the Second Coming GOD will take control.
Before the actual Second Coming, or the Second Advent of Christ,
Jesus will return for the church and call out those who are saved
(See Rapture and Resurrection.). The earth will then enter the
Tribulation, which will be approximately seven years in length (See
Great Tribulation.). At the end of the Great Tribulation, the Lord
Jesus Christ will return from Heaven with His saints and take over
the kingdoms of the world. The wicked will be destroyed, the
Millennial Kingdom will be established (See Millennium and
Pre-Millennialism.), and God's Son will rule over the nations. This
is God's will, and this is God's word.
In Mark 16:17-18, Jesus said to the Apostles, "And these signs shall
follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils;
they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and
if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall
lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
Because of their inability and refusal to rightly divide the word
of truth (II Tim. 2:15), the Charismatic's operate under the false
assumption that these signs are still in effect today and that it is
THEIR duty to fulfill them. This is why we have charlatans like Oral
Roberts and Jim Baker living in mansions and begging people for
money.
In their haste to make a dollar, the Charismatic's consistently
ignore the fact that Jesus said these were SIGNS, and that I
Corinthians 1:22 tells us that SIGNS are for the JEWS. Israel began
with signs (Rom. 4:11; Exo. 4:8 ,9, 17, 23, 28, 30; 7:3; 8:23;
10:1-2; 13:9; 31:13, 17; Deu. 4:34; 6:22), lived by signs (Deu.
11:18; Jos. 4:6; I Sam. 10:7; II Kgs. 19:29; Isa. 7:14; 38:7, 22;
Eze. 4:3; 20:12, 20), and demanded signs from Christ (Mat. 12:38;
24:3). [ADVICE TO READERS: Everything that can be misunderstood WILL
be misunderstood when you fail to check references.] There is more
scripture to support the doctrine of signs being for Israel than
there is to support the Virgin Birth and the Inspiration of
Scripture combined! Anyone who ignores this truth is absolutely
unqualified to teach, preach, or write anything about the Apostolic
Signs. If you'll take a look at Hebrews 2:3-4 you will see that the
signs were used to CONFIRM the word of God, and you will also see
that the signs are spoken of in the PAST TENSE. They are also spoken
of in the past tense in II Corinthians 12:12. Those who insist that
we should practice the signs today because they were practiced
throughout the New Testament haven't been reading (or believing)
their Bible. They were not practiced throughout the New Testament.
In fact, Paul left Trophimus SICK at Miletum (II Tim. 4:20); he gave
Timothy medical advice instead of healing him (I Tim. 5:23), and he
had infirmities of his own from which he could not be healed (II
Cor. 11:30; 12:5-10). Now why all this sickness if the Apostolic
Signs were still in effect? Answer: They WEREN'T still in effect,
because they were only needed in the early ministry of the Apostles
for the purpose of confirming the truth to Israel.
Now we firmly believe that God can still work miracles and heal
anyone He chooses, and we believe that the prayers of God's people
can move Him to work miracles, but let's not confuse answered
prayers with Apostolic Signs, because there's a vast difference. We
believe in healing; we just don't believe in healers.
You say, "Well what about speaking in unknown tongues through the
Holy Ghost? Do you deny that people today speak in unknown tongues?"
No, of course not. People have spoken in unknown tongues for
thousands of years. Ever read Genesis 11? Was that an outpouring of
the Holy Ghost? When the Church of Satan speaks in unknown tongues
(which they do), is that a work of the Holy Ghost? When a
psychologist can have you blubbering in unknown tongues within
fifteen minutes, is that an outpouring of the Holy Ghost? You see,
too many people have the idea that if something is highly abnormal
or miraculous that it MUST be of God. The coming Antichrist will
have a field day with such feeble minded people, because HE will
work such "signs and lying wonders" that the entire world will
follow after him (II Ths. 2:8-12; Rev. 13:13-14).
Nowhere in the New Testament did God command anyone to speak with
unknown tongues. We do read about "new tongues" (Mar. 16:17), "other
tongues" (Acts 2:4) and "divers kinds of tongues" (I Cor. 12:10),
but these are all FOREIGN LANGUAGES, not senseless gibberish! There
are no unknown tongues in Acts 2, and there is no baptism of the
Holy Ghost in I Corinthians 14. Instead of rightly dividing the word
of truth, the careless Charismatic's wrest the scriptures to their
own destruction by ignoring the set divisions and doctrines that the
Holy Spirit has inspired in the scriptures. The Apostolic Signs are
not for today, because they were only for confirming the word of God
to the unbelieving Jews in the first century. The Bible warns us to
beware of anyone who professes to practice these signs today (II
Cor. 11:13-15; Mat. 7:15; 24:11; I Tim. 4:1-2), and the Lord
commends the church at Ephesus for trying out some professing
apostles and finding them to be LIARS (Rev. 2:2).
Some have the idea that a sinner is an extremely wicked person and
that only a certain group of people actually classify as sinners
(Mat. 9:11), but the Bible declares that EVERYONE is born a sinner
and needs to be saved from his sins by receiving Christ as Savior
(Rom. 3:10, 23; 5:12, 8-9; 6:23; 10:9-13).
In the Bible a Sodomite is a homosexual, and the scriptures speak
very much against this ungodly practice (Rom. 1:26-28; Lev. 18:22;
20:13; Gen. 19; I Kgs. 14:24; 15:12; 22:46; 23:7; Deu. 23:17). God
has never created anyone to be a sex pervert, and He has never
approved of this sin.
This term comes from Colossians 2:11-15 where we are told that the
new believer experiences a "circumcision made without hands" which
puts off the body of sins and allows the Christian to serve God in
the spirit. In essence, the Christian's body is cut loose from his
soul so that his corruptible flesh does not corrupt the redeemed
soul.
A steward is one who is given the responsibility of managing or
overseeing something (Gen. 15:2; Lk. 12:42-48; 16:1-13). God has
made every Christian a steward, according to I Peter 4:10. God OWNS
you if you are saved (I Cor. 6:19-20); therefore He owns everything
that you own. With this being true, it is our duty to properly
manage our entire life according to His will. As someone has said,
we need to be good stewards with our TIME, with our TALENTS, and
with our TREASURE because we will give account to God for it all.
To tithe is to give a tenth. The first occurrence of tithing in the
Bible is in Genesis 14:20 where Abraham gives God a tenth of his
possessions. Jacob also vows to tithe in Genesis 28:22. Tithing was
also a requirement under the Mosaic law (Lev. 27:30-32; Num.
18:21-28; Deu. 14:22). A tenth of all income was to be given over to
the Levitical priesthood for their living and for the maintenance of
the Lord's service. The blessings of God were promised to those who
were obedient to His laws of tithing (Mal. 3:8-10).
Today, although we are no longer under the Mosaic law,
Bible-believing Christians still practice tithing because God
accepted tithes even BEFORE the law of Moses. If an Old Testament
Jew, whose sins had not yet been paid for, can give a tenth of his
income to the Lord, how much more should WE be willing to give,
whose sins HAVE been washed away in the blood of Christ? Paul said
that God loves a "cheerful giver" (II Cor. 9:7).
Most Bible-believing churches consider tithing a MINIMUM gift,
which goes into a general fund to finance the basic expenses of the
church, while special love offerings and missions are considered
separate offerings altogether.
In Mark 16:17-18, Jesus said to the Apostles, "And these signs shall
follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils;
they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and
if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall
lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
Because of their inability and refusal to rightly divide the word
of truth (II Tim. 2:15), the Charismatic's operate under the false
assumption that these signs are still in effect today and that it is
THEIR duty to fulfill them. This is why we have charlatans like Oral
Roberts and Jim Baker living in mansions and begging people for
money.
In their haste to make a dollar, the Charismatic's consistently
ignore the fact that Jesus said these were SIGNS, and that I
Corinthians 1:22 tells us that SIGNS are for the JEWS. Israel began
with signs (Rom. 4:11; Exo. 4:8 ,9, 17, 23, 28, 30; 7:3; 8:23;
10:1-2; 13:9; 31:13, 17; Deu. 4:34; 6:22), lived by signs (Deu.
11:18; Jos. 4:6; I Sam. 10:7; II Kgs. 19:29; Isa. 7:14; 38:7, 22;
Eze. 4:3; 20:12, 20), and demanded signs from Christ (Mat. 12:38;
24:3). [ADVICE TO READERS: Everything that can be misunderstood WILL
be misunderstood when you fail to check references.] There is more
scripture to support the doctrine of signs being for Israel than
there is to support the Virgin Birth and the Inspiration of
Scripture combined! Anyone who ignores this truth is absolutely
unqualified to teach, preach, or write anything about the Apostolic
Signs. If you'll take a look at Hebrews 2:3-4 you will see that the
signs were used to CONFIRM the word of God, and you will also see
that the signs are spoken of in the PAST TENSE. They are also spoken
of in the past tense in II Corinthians 12:12. Those who insist that
we should practice the signs today because they were practiced
throughout the New Testament haven't been reading (or believing)
their Bible. They were not practiced throughout the New Testament.
In fact, Paul left Trophimus SICK at Miletum (II Tim. 4:20); he gave
Timothy medical advice instead of healing him (I Tim. 5:23), and he
had infirmities of his own from which he could not be healed (II
Cor. 11:30; 12:5-10). Now why all this sickness if the Apostolic
Signs were still in effect? Answer: They WEREN'T still in effect,
because they were only needed in the early ministry of the Apostles
for the purpose of confirming the truth to Israel.
Now we firmly believe that God can still work miracles and heal
anyone He chooses, and we believe that the prayers of God's people
can move Him to work miracles, but let's not confuse answered
prayers with Apostolic Signs, because there's a vast difference. We
believe in healing; we just don't believe in healers.
You say, "Well what about speaking in unknown tongues through the
Holy Ghost? Do you deny that people today speak in unknown tongues?"
No, of course not. People have spoken in unknown tongues for
thousands of years. Ever read Genesis 11? Was that an outpouring of
the Holy Ghost? When the Church of Satan speaks in unknown tongues
(which they do), is that a work of the Holy Ghost? When a
psychologist can have you blubbering in unknown tongues within
fifteen minutes, is that an outpouring of the Holy Ghost? You see,
too many people have the idea that if something is highly abnormal
or miraculous that it MUST be of God. The coming Antichrist will
have a field day with such feeble minded people, because HE will
work such "signs and lying wonders" that the entire world will
follow after him (II Ths. 2:8-12; Rev. 13:13-14).
Nowhere in the New Testament did God command anyone to speak with
unknown tongues. We do read about "new tongues" (Mar. 16:17), "other
tongues" (Acts 2:4) and "divers kinds of tongues" (I Cor. 12:10),
but these are all FOREIGN LANGUAGES, not senseless gibberish! There
are no unknown tongues in Acts 2, and there is no baptism of the
Holy Ghost in I Corinthians 14. Instead of rightly dividing the word
of truth, the careless Charismatic's wrest the scriptures to their
own destruction by ignoring the set divisions and doctrines that the
Holy Spirit has inspired in the scriptures. The Apostolic Signs are
not for today, because they were only for confirming the word of God
to the unbelieving Jews in the first century. The Bible warns us to
beware of anyone who professes to practice these signs today (II
Cor. 11:13-15; Mat. 7:15; 24:11; I Tim. 4:1-2), and the Lord
commends the church at Ephesus for trying out some professing
apostles and finding them to be LIARS (Rev. 2:2).
The Trinity doctrine is the doctrine that God consists of three
distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Ghost. Those who deny the existence of the Trinity usually do so
because they can't understand it. Those of us who accept the Trinity
doctrine don't fully understand it either; we just BELIEVE what God
said about it.
What did He say about it? He said, "For there are three that bear
record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and
these three are one." (I Jhn. 5:7) He said, "Go ye therefore, and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." (Mat. 28:19) He said, "The grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the
Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen." (II Cor. 13:14) You can see all
three members of the Holy Trinity present at the baptism of Jesus in
Matthew 3:13-17. Jesus said when you've seen Him, then you've seen
the Father (Jhn. 14:9), and Peter said that when you lie to the Holy
Ghost you are lying to GOD (Acts 5:3-4). God the Father is God; God
the Son is God; and God the Holy Ghost is God.
Psalm 19:1-6 and Romans 1:20 tell us that we can learn of God
through nature. Have you ever studied nature? The Trinity doctrine
is manifest everywhere. Time consists of THREE parts: past, present,
and future. Space consists of THREE parts: length, breadth, and
height. Matter consists of THREE parts: energy, motion, and
phenomena. The sun consists of THREE types of rays: alpha, beta, and
gamma. Man consists of THREE parts: body, soul, and spirit. A family
consists of THREE parts: Father, mother, and children. You see, the
truth of the Trinity is everywhere. We don't have to fully
understand it, and God never told us to understand it. Our job is to
BELIEVE it. God is a Trinity. Three in One, and One in Three, and
the One in the middle died for me.
During His physical life on earth, Jesus often exercised His Deity
by performing miracles through the Divine power of the Holy Ghost.
In Matthew 12:22-32 the Pharisees witness one of the Lord's many
miracles. Then, instead of believing on Jesus, they accused Him of
performing miracles through the power of the Devil. He then told
them that men could be forgiven for blasphemy (evil and hurtful
speaking) against men and against Him, but that blasphemy against
the Holy Ghost could NEVER be forgiven. A companion reference for
this is found in Mark 3:30, where we are told WHY Jesus said this to
them: "Because they said, he hath an unclean spirit."
It is important to note that nothing is said about this
particular sin after Calvary. It is only mentioned during the life
of Christ on earth, while He was working genuine miracles by the
power of the Holy Ghost. It is also needful to understand that
blasphemy is a sin of the TONGUE. A person could not commit
blasphemy with thoughts or actions. It was strictly a sin of the
tongue, and it could only be committed by openly accusing Jesus
Christ of working through Satanic power.
Some teach that this sin may still be committed today, but there
is no scriptural support for this. In fact, when Jesus later speaks
of the coming of the Holy Ghost to indwell believers, He said that
the Holy Ghost would convict the world of three things: sin,
righteousness, and judgment. He then said that the Holy Ghost would
convict the world of SIN for ONE REASON: "because they believe not
on me." (Jhn. 16:7-11) It seems that if blasphemy against the Holy
Ghost was to be the greatest sin of this age that Jesus would have
used this opportunity to warn us about it, but He warned us about
UNBELIEF instead. Some Charismatic groups, who profess to be LED by
the Holy Ghost, are in the habit of accusing anyone who opposes them
of blaspheming the Holy Ghost. For example, some Charismatic's would
say that I have blasphemed the Holy Ghost in this booklet, because I
have written things in opposition to their practice of speaking in
unknown tongues and faith healing. That's baloney. Even if they WERE
doing all these things by the Holy Ghost (which they are not), it
still would not be unpardonable to speak against it. Many people
have spoken against great Christian works and then gotten saved
later. The Apostle Paul is a good example (Acts 8-9). The blood of
Jesus Christ cleanses us from ALL SIN (I Jhn. 1:9), and if you want
to commit the unpardonable sin in this age, then you will have to
reject Jesus Christ as your Savior. Go ahead and reject Christ, and
when you stand before God at the White Throne Judgment, you will NOT
be forgiven.
Now we do realize that a person can reject Christ for so long
that God the Holy Ghost pulls away and stops convicting that
individual. In which case the individual never receives Christ,
never receives forgiveness of sin, and goes to Hell (Pro. 1:23-33;
Isa. 55:6-7; Jhn. 12:37-43), but only God knows when a person
crosses that line. No man on this planet has any scriptural
authority for telling someone that God will never forgive them for
their sins.
The doctrine of the Virgin Birth is the doctrine that the Lord Jesus
Christ was miraculously conceived of the Holy Ghost and born of a
virgin, without a man being involved. The original prophecy of the
Virgin Birth was given in Isaiah 7:14, over seven hundred years
before Jesus was born. Luke 1:34-35 and Matthew 1:24-25 tell us that
Joseph took Mary to be his wife, but that he "knew her not" until
after Jesus was born.
It was needful for Jesus to be conceived of the Holy Ghost,
because had He been conceived of a man, He would have had a sin
nature (Psa. 51:5; Rom. 5:12), which would have disqualified Him
from being the perfect Lamb of God to take away the sin of the
world. The Virgin Birth is absolutely essential for New Testament
salvation.
Many new Bible translations deliberately change the wording of
Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:25, and Luke 2:33 in an attempt to downgrade
the Virgin Birth of our Lord, but thanks be to God, the King James
Bible can be trusted to preserve this doctrine without compromise.
When a person witnesses he tells what he knows about a particular
subject. We are told to be witnesses for Christ in Acts 1:8, so
witnessing is simply a matter of telling someone about the salvation
that the Lord Jesus Christ freely gives to all who will receive Him.
A true Christian will not be ashamed to witness for the Lord (Mk.
8:38; Rom. 1:16; 10:11).
When you worship someone you pay them divine honors. In John 4:24,
Jesus says, "God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship
him in spirit and in truth." Many seem to think that worship is
something that happens when people start acting religious (singing
hymns, praying, taking offerings, reading scripture, preaching,
etc.), but this isn't always true. Isaiah 1:11-20 tells us that God
isn't impressed with a religious show. The Pharisees were the most
outwardly religious people of their day, but the Lord wasn't the
least bit impressed (Mt. 23). Friend, God knows your heart (I Sam.
16:7; Jer. 17:10), and if your heart isn't right with God, then your
worship isn't right with God.
A person who has zeal for the Lord is a person who is excited about
getting involved in the Lord's service (II Cor. 9:2; Tit. 2:14; Rev.
3:19).
The following tracts and booklets are also
available from Bible Baptist Church:
Sample packages are available upon request.
Mail orders to:
Bible Baptist Church
P.O. Box 383, Martin, TN 38237
James L. Melton, Pastor
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