A Brief Summary of the History of Bible Translation

April 3, 2009

by Shawn Brasseaux

NOTE: The following study consists of notes that I took reading various works about Bible versions and Bible translation history. A large portion of this material is derived from the 1987 classic Gipp’s Understandable History of the Bible by Samuel C. Gipp, Th.D. That work can read online in its entirety at www.chick.com/reading/books/157/157cont.asp. I would also refer you to Final Authority: A Christian’s Guide to the King James Bible, by William P. Grady, Ph.D., and New Age Bible Versions by Gail Riplinger. Also, The Revision Revised: A Refutation of Westcott and Hort’s False Greek Text and Theory by Dean John William Burgon is a classic in addressing Bible versions and Bible manuscripts—Burgon’s work has yet to be refuted.

 

Part I: King James Bible (A. V. / Authorized Version)

  1. Translated from A.D. 1603–1611, during the reign of King James I of England.
  2. Known as Authorized Version because true Christians universally accepted it, not because King James “authorized” its usage.
  3. The text on which the King James Bible is based was used in the early church.
  4. The King James is supported by highest quality manuscripts, by the oldest manuscripts, and by the largest number of manuscripts.

 

Part II: Bible Manuscripts

  1. The original Bible manuscripts (autographs) from the first century have deteriorated and have been lost forever; we only have copies today (apographs).
  2. There are three types of Bible manuscript copies:
    1. Miniscules (cursives): most numerous of extant copies; miniscules in Greek are similar to our lowercase letters in English. The oldest miniscule copies are papyrus manuscripts sewn into a scroll or a roll. Papyrus was inexpensive and not durable (identical to newsprint). Some miniscules written on vellum, or animal skins—although it was more expensive than papyrus, it was longer lasting. A certain number of miniscules are composed into a book form rather than a scroll (books were called codices; singular form is codex). In some cases, only fragments remain of scroll or codex. In early copies, the words were written end to end with no space in between; later copies included spaces between words.
    2. Majuscules (uncials): copies with text that is similar to our uppercase letters. Majuscules are not as numerous as miniscules, and do not appear until the fourteenth century.
    3. Lectionaries: similar to “responsive readings” in today’s hymnals. Due to shortage of copies of Scripture, lectionaries were used to put key verses into people’s hands. Readings were very early and close to the originals.
  3. The early Greek manuscripts were translated into other languages, such as the Peshitta (A.D. 145-150, a Syrian translation) and the Old Latin Vulgate (A.D. 157). Both of these are older than the oldest uncial manuscripts (see #2 above). Other versions of non-Greek manuscripts are Gothic, Sahidic, Bohairic, and Coptic.
  4. We have church fathers’ early sermons, books, and commentaries. Some of these early fathers may have seen the original manuscripts!
  5. Considering these non-Greek manuscripts like the Peshitta and the Old Latin Vulgate, the copies (miniscules, majuscules, and lectionaries), and the church fathers, there are 5,250 witnesses total, with over 3,000 being Greek manuscripts.
  6. Majority Text:
    1. Also known as Textus Receptus (Latin for “received text”), Imperial Text, Traditional Text, Byzantine Text, Reformation Text, Antiochian Text, Syrian Text, and Universal Text.
    2. Approximately 90-95+ percent of the extant Greek New Testament manuscripts.
    3. Supports the King James Bible, the Authorized Version.
  7. Minority Text:
    1. Also known as Egyptian Text, Critical Text, Hesychian Text, and Alexandrian Text.
    2. Basis for Westcott and Hort’s corrupt 1881 Greek New Testament.
    3. Eberhard Nestle used Westcott and Hort’s corrupt text with Weymouth’s 3rd edition and Tischendorf’s 8th edition to produce Nestle’s Greek New Testament in 1898 (Nestle’s New Testament is the text used in all modern Bible versions New Testaments; this text is also known as Nestle-Aland Greek or United Bible Societies [UBS] Greek).
    4. Supports all modern English Bible versions released after the 1881 Revised Version, including New American Standard Version (NASV) and the New International Version (NIV).
  8. Within the group known as Minority Text, two uncial manuscripts from the fourth or fifth century are known as Sinaiticus and Vaticanus.
  1. Sinaiticus (Aleph)
    1. Represented by first Hebrew letter Aleph
    2. Codex (book form), on vellum that contains 147½ leaves, its pages measure 15″ × 13 ½”, and it has four columns with 48 lines per page
    3. Contains spurious (false, non-inspired of God) books like Shepherd of Hermes, Epistle of Barnabas, and the Didache
    4. Constantin von Tischendorf found Codex Sinaiticus in a wastebasket at St. Catherine’s Monastery near Mount Sinai in February 1859. Tischendorf had already completed his 7th edition of the Greek New Testament in 1856-1859 and claimed it did not need further revision. Upon finding the contents of Sinaiticus, Tischendorf produced an 8th edition from 1865 to 1872, after making 3,500 corrections to his 7th edition!
    5. Dr. Alfred Martin claims that there is evidence of Aleph (Codex Sinaiticus) being corrected by ten separate people on different occasions
  2. Vaticanus (B)
    1. represented by “B”
    2. Codex Vaticanus was found in Vatican library in 1841, when it remains to this day (Even today, Vaticanus is the property of the Roman Catholic Church!)
    3. Like Sinaiticus, it is also written on vellum in book form (codex), contains 759 pages, each page measuring 10″ × 10½” with three columns of 41 lines per page
    4. Codex Vaticanus omits Genesis 1:1–46:28, Psalms 106–138, Matthew 16:2-3, Romans 16:24, the Pauline pastoral epistles (1 & 2 Timothy and Titus), the entire book of Revelation, and everything in Hebrews after 9:14… Why would Rome be interested in omitting Hebrews 10:10-12?

 

 

Part III: Seven Influential (Yet Corrupt) Figures in Early Bible History

1. Justin Martyr

  • A.D. 100–165
  • Born a pagan, and died in the robes of a pagan priest
  • First to mix Gnosticism with Christianity. Gnosticism was a heretical doctrine which taught that Christ was created by God the Father. Funk and Wagnall’s Standard Dictionary defines Gnosticism as “A philosophical and religious system (first to sixth century) teaching that knowledge rather than faith was the key to salvation.” Many scholars today place their knowledge above faith in God’s Word.

2. Tatian

  • A.D. 120–180
  • A disciple of Justin Martyr, who also embraced Gnosticism.
  • Tatian wrote a harmony of the gospels using the Christian Scriptures and the Gnostic gospels, thus omitting Scripture (such as John 7:53 –8:11 and Mark 16:9-20). His “Harmony of the Gospels” was so corrupt that the Bishop of Syria threw out 200 copies.

3. Clement of Alexandria

  • A.D. 150–215
  • Was a disciple of Tatian. (Remember Luke 6:40: “The disciple is not above his master: but everyone that is perfect shall be as his master.”)
  • Clement taught that there was no literal heaven or hell, no blood atonement of Christ, and no infallible Bible. He used the Gnostic Scriptures to teach his students.
  • He founded the school of theology in Alexandria, Egypt

4. Origen

  • A.D. 184–254
  • Was a disciple of Clement of Alexandria. He held to the same doctrine as Clement, plus he taught water baptism was necessary for babies to gain salvation. Origen stated, “The Scriptures are of little use to those who understand them as they are written.”
  • Origen was one of the first textual critics. His textual work in both the New Testament and the Old Testaments (the “Hexapla”) was the basis for two of the most corrupt manuscripts used by the Roman Catholic Church (Vaticanus and Sinaiticus).
  • Origen developed a method of Biblical interpretation that is called “allegorization.” Origen believed the Bible was only a set of stories that illustrate truth, but not literal facts.
  • He believed Jesus Christ was created and subordinate to the Father (the same as Jehovah’s Witnesses), the pre-existence of the soul before birth (the same as the Mormons), and the final restoration of all spirits (universal salvation). (See Dr. Earle Cairns “Christianity Through The Centuries,” Zondervan Publishing House, p. 122).

5. Eusebius

  • A.D. 260–340
  • Trained at Origen’s school in Alexandria.
  • Roman Emperor Constantine commissioned him to make 50 copies of Scripture for the Roman church. He was the editor of two Greek codices (manuscripts) named Vaticanus and Sinaiticus—were these two of those 50 “bibles?” These two manuscripts were discredited and abandoned by early Christians as being corrupt. (“Which Bible?” p. 139,143). These are Roman Catholic manuscripts and were not used by Protestant Christians until 1881. These two manuscripts are the basis for Roman Catholic Bibles and every major English translation of the Bible since 1901. The King James Bible translators rejected these manuscripts.
  • Eusebius was Roman Catholic in his doctrine (see his book, “Ecclesiastical History,” Vols. 1-5). Eusebius copied the Gnostic Scriptures and Vaticanus and Sinaiticus.

6. Jerome

  • A.D. 347–420
  • Roman Catholic in doctrine.
  • He translated the Greek manuscripts of Vaticanus and Sinaiticus into Latin (called Jerome’s Latin Vulgate), to produce a corrupt Roman Catholic Bible, the (New) Latin Vulgate, which the Christians rejected from A.D. 380–1280. In order to deceive the masses, the Catholic Church chose to entitle it “vulgate,” (from “vulgar,” meaning “common”) making it appear that everyone was accepting it as the Word of God!

7. von Tischendorf

  • A.D. 1815–1874
  • Liberal German theologian who was also the first Protestant to find and use the manuscripts of Vaticanus and Sinaiticus to construct a Greek text.

 

Part IV: Bible Versions Timeline

Taken from The Answer Book by Dr. Samuel C. Gipp

  1. 1603-1611. Authorized Version (AV) King James Bible translated.
  2. 1881-1885. Revised Version (RV) is the product of a commission by the Convocation of Canterbury of 1870 to revise the Authorized Version (AV). RV New Testament was produced in 1881; the Old Testament in 1885. Drs. Westcott and Hort lead the way, to the AV being altered over 30,000 times in English!
  3. 1901. American Revised Version, later called American Standard Version (ASV), released. Only 23 years later, its copyright was sold.
  4. 1954. ASV was further revised and republished as the Revised Standard Version (RSV).
  5. 1960. New American Standard Version (NASV) is released.
  6. 1967. The New Scofield Version is released.
  7. 1978. The New International Version (NIV) is produced.
  8. 1979. The New King James Version (NKJV) is introduced.
  9. Dr. Gipp writes in The Answer Book, page 117, regarding these modern Bible versions from 1881 to present-day: “Every new version that has been launched has been, without exception, a product of Satan’s Alexandrian philosophy which rejects the premise of a perfect Bible. Furthermore, they have been copied, on the most part, from the corrupt Alexandrian manuscript. (Although a few have been translated from pure Antiochian manuscripts after they were tainted by the Alexandrian philosophy.)”
  10. But, do not the best manuscripts support these new versions? The new versions are only supported by about five of the over 5,000 manuscripts of the New Testament Bible text.

 

Part V: Westcott and Hort

  1. Brooke Foss Westcott (1825-1903) and Fenton John Anthony Hort (1828-1892) were two unsaved Anglican ministers who were fully steeped in the Alexandrian philosophy that “there is no perfect Bible,” they had a vicious distaste for the King James Bible and its Antiochian Greek text, the Textus Receptus.
  2. They believed it possible to communicate with the dead and made many attempts to do just that through a “supernatural” society that they organized and titled “The Ghostly Guild.”
  3. Both believed that heaven existed only in the mind of man.
  4. Westcott accepted and promoted prayers for the dead.
  5. Both were admirers of Mary (Westcott going so far as to call his wife Sarah, “Mary”).
  6. Hort was an admirer and proponent of Darwin and his theory of evolution.
  7. Westcott and Hort had compiled their own Greek text from Alexandrian manuscripts, which, though unpublished and inferior to the Textus Receptus, they secreted little by little to the 1881 Revision Committee. The result being a totally new Alexandrian English Bible instead of a “revision” of the Authorized Version as it was claimed to be. This Greek New Testament (Westcott-Hort Greek) is not the same as the one used for the King James Bible or during the Reformation. The Westcott-Hort Greek New Testament was the basis for the 1881 Revised Version (RV) and it is the basic Greek text for all modern English “bibles” such as NIV, NASV, NRSV, GNB/TEV, ESV, NCV, HCSB, et cetera. The Greek text of Westcott and Hort differs from the Greek text of the King James Bible (the Received Text) 5,788 times, or 10% of the text. Since all modern translations are based on the work of Westcott and Hort, it would do us well to know the theology of these two men.

 

 

Psalm 12:6,7 KJV: “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.”

2 Corinthians 2:17: “For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.”

1 Peter 1:25 KJV: “But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.”

Matthew 24:35 KJV: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (—the Lord Jesus Christ)

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Christ’s Righteousness, Not Our Righteousness

March 27, 2009

by Shawn Brasseaux

Multitudes of people who have no assurance of salvation are somehow hoping to achieve salvation. Based on the fallacies they hear in church, they reason that God will find appeasement in their penance, praying, candle-burning, confession, and communion-taking. Indeed, the Scriptures encourage believers to pray and observe the Lord’s Supper to remember His sacrificial death and resurrection. However, salvation cannot be found in any ceremony, rite, or ritual that we do! That is why Christ had to do what He did on Cavalry’s cross!

Most church members are unlearned regarding these basic doctrines of Scripture. In the natural state, all of us have been born with a sin nature that stays with us until the day we die (Romans 5:12-21, for instance).

“12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:…
15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Regardless of the myriads of good deeds we have done, we still are not good enough for heaven because our inherited sin nature has already damned us all to an everlasting lake of fire! We can do absolutely nothing to change that because we will never be perfect enough to satisfy God’s righteous standards. The purpose of the Mosaic Law (the Ten Commandments) was to show that we ALL are guilty of falling short of the glory of God. Consider Romans 3:19-23 KJV:

“19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

According to the Bible (above Scriptures), the Mosaic Law does not make you “fit for heaven,” it makes you “fit for hell!” We are all sinners, and the Law proves it! We are all “guilty before God.”

Titus 3:4-7 KJV says this:

“4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

If you are not a Christian saved by grace through faith in Calvary alone, nothing you do will count for eternity. If you are hoping to gain salvation by trusting in Christ, and also “doing the best you can to finish what He did not do,” Christ’s work will be canceled completely. Galatians 2:21 KJV: “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” You cannot depend on your own works and the finished work of Jesus Christ to get you to heaven. People just cannot seem to take the Scriptures literally (Romans 4:1-5): “to him who worketh not, but to him that believeth [trusts in Christ Jesus], his faith is counted for righteousness.”

By placing your faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ, His death, bloodshed, burial, and resurrection, God will then appropriate Christ’s righteousness to you! As we read in 2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” In Christ Jesus, we have been given God’s righteousness!

“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation [substitution, fully-satisfying payment] through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” (Romans 3:24,25 KJV).

Notice the Bible says “freely,” without cost to us. Take notice that when a person is saved, it declares Christ’s righteousness, not that person’s righteousness. I am not perfect, but as a member of the Church the Body of Christ, I am saved by faith, and God has appropriated Christ’s righteousness to me! I am justified, sanctified, reconciled, and forgiven through Christ! And I played absolutely no role in gaining God’s salvation!

Christ’s righteousness has covered your sins. Christ suffered for you, and you need suffer nothing to earn salvation. Everyone will avoid purgatory, because purgatory is a false idea conceived by religious people who want to line their pockets with your treasure. You can also avoid hell, or like most, you can avoid heaven. It all depends on whether or not you trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ before you die. Trust in Christ alone, and God will save you forever!

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Don’t Be Caught Sitting When You’re Caught Up!

March 14, 2009

by Shawn Brasseaux

As I write this, I do not feel well. As you read this, we have other Christian brethren in the world suffering from various circumstances. A believer somewhere is coping with the loss of a loved one, and another Christian is fighting a life-threatening disease. We have Christians struggling financially, going through bitter divorces, and missionaries risking their lives to give people a copy of God’s Word! Surely, I can endure my sickness, and all those other Christians can keep doing the Lord’s work too, because we Christians serve “the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9).

The Lord Jesus Christ is living—alive and well, after dying for me—I am not serving a dead pagan god! He has never stopped caring for me, He will never leave me, and He even knew me before the foundation of the world. His Holy Spirit indwells me and seals me (Ephesians 4:30); His love for me constrains me (2 Corinthians 5:14). There is too much at stake to crouch in a corner and let the adversary intimidate me or silence me. We should not let intimidation or discouragement beat us down. We have lost friends and family members who need to be reached with the glorious light of the gospel of Christ! After the rapture, we will no longer have the opportunity to reach them, so please take advantage of what little time with which we have been blessed!

In 1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV, Paul explains that all people are suffering the same afflictions: the curse (sickness, pain, and misery), the inherited sin nature, and ultimately death: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

However, we, as believers in Christ, have resurrection power behind us: the same power that created the universe resurrected our Savior, empowers us today, and it is that same power that will resurrect us into glory one day. Upon the rapture, every member of the Church the Body of Christ will be transformed into a glorious body, being forever healed of the curse, the sin nature, and our nasty world. We cannot let these “light afflictions” hinder us—we must go onward!!!! “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18 KJV). And 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 KJV:

“16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Our world is becoming more and more anti-Christian, so we must grow stronger in the Lord and in His Word the King James Bible. We need to keep studying His Word daily. Otherwise, we will be deceived and we will be swept away by the widespread false teaching (Ephesians 4:14). Even if we have to face a martyr’s death in the coming years, we Christians already have victory through Jesus Christ!

We believers in Christ Jesus have the rapture as our “blessed hope,” and according to Titus 2:13, we need to be looking for it everyday! Our Lord Jesus Christ could come at any time, so we need to be giving it our all. Please do not sit in a pew and do nothing like most professing Christians. We have a suffering and spiritually dead world to which we are driven to minister, to proclaim to them grace and salvation! No one else can do it but us—no one else is willing but us! Let us all be working for the Lord when He will “catch us up” one day. Let us redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5).

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58 KJV).

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” (Titus 2:13 KJV).

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Grace and Light, Wrath and Darkness

March 10, 2009

by Shawn Brasseaux

The righteous God of heaven and earth could have completely destroyed Adam and Eve in response to their disobedience. These creatures called “humans” were now fallen, devious little rascals, but God’s grace came instead of His righteous wrath. Instead of wiping them from existence, we see God proving His grace as He provides the animal blood sacrifice needed to cover their sins in Eden (Genesis 3:21). He “clothed them” with righteousness, but this was a temporary atonement; the blood of Jesus Christ would one day replace this animal blood, and forever and completely atone for sin and sins (Hebrews 9:11-14; Hebrews 10:10-14).

Grace has always been one of God’s attributes, but we find it most clearly manifested in the Person and finished crosswork of the Lord Jesus Christ. How the Almighty Creator God took upon flesh to die at the hands of His created beings. That will always be something incredible!

As the Messiah-King came to present Himself to His covenant people Israel, the Lord knew the full timeline from end to end: they would reject and crucify their Messiah in unbelief. In the first few verses of the first chapter of John’s Gospel, we find this description of the Lord Jesus Christ, referred to here as the “Light” (John 1:1-11 KJV):

“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own [the nation Israel], and his own received him not.”

Now read John 3:17-21 KJV, with Jesus Christ still being the “light”:

“17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

Israel refused to have Jesus as their King and Lord. Israel’s religious leaders were wicked, and because they were under heavy conviction of wrongdoing and unbelief, they wanted nothing to do with Jesus of Nazareth. The Jews preferred the murderer Barabbas over the Prince of Life! They did not want light; they wanted darkness. They rejected the spiritual Light, Jesus Christ!

Again, God could have righteously judged them in wrath, but this wrath has been postponed for nearly 2000 years, since the Dispensation of Grace began with the Apostle Paul. Even today, people still prefer darkness instead of light. They oppose God and follow Satan in his rebellion against God. They embrace error in men’s ideas, and cast off the truth of God’s Word “rightly divided.” They pursue iniquity and fulfill the lusts of the flesh; they avoid God because He is the epitome of righteousness. They prefer their religious duties and ignore the finished crosswork of Jesus Christ! This is all evidence of that old sin nature we have inherited from our father Adam.

Our world has taken advantage of God’s grace. Because humanity has never seen God’s wrath, our world has become lax to reality: they want a God of love and grace, but they willingly forget that He is also a God who is righteous, holy, and just, and He will not let sinners get away with their evil! Through the finished crosswork of Jesus Christ, God has given us an opportunity to escape His wrath and vexation. But, most of society refuses to accept His work as being sufficient. They try to add this, or supplement it with that (water baptism, tongues, healing, sacraments, et cetera), thereby ignoring what He has already done at Calvary (Romans 10:1-3). Blasphemy! God will be absolutely righteous in what He will accomplish one day in the Tribulation, to make people pay for their rejection of the Gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10).

After the “catching up” of the Church the Body of Christ, God will remove His grace from earth (the rapture), concluding the 2000 years of His Gospel of Grace and His Dispensation of Grace. And God will be absolutely fair and just as He judges the unbelieving world. Earth will turn dark, crime will run rampant, devilish armies will infiltrate the world, famines, earthquakes, diseases, wars, and supernatural cosmic events will drive our world insane during the seven-year Tribulation period. Still, the Scriptures say that men will not repent; instead of changing their mind, they continue with their sorcery, fornication, and idolatry (Revelation 9:21).

Today we have grace and light; tomorrow may be the day when God brings in wrath and darkness….

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Instead of Clicking “Undo,” Choose “Redeem the Time”

March 7, 2009

by Shawn Brasseaux

I spend a lot of my time using Microsoft Word, for obvious reasons. 🙂 When editing a document in a word processor, you have the option of “redo” and “undo.” “Undo” undoes your mistake while “redo” reverses the “undo” command. If only life had “undo” and “redo” features: you could reverse the mistakes of your past, or you could do it all over again differently if you wanted. But, as we all know, life does not work like that. We have the present and the future: the past is just that—passed! We have one option, and that is to “redeem the time,” the time that we have today and whatever time we have left in the future.

Just a short time ago, I had a friend whose past was nagging her. She says she has made many mistakes in the past. I encouraged her by telling her that she cannot erase the past, reminding her that all she can do is focus on the present and the future. It is good to regret your mistakes because you can learn from them, but you should not let your past haunt you to the point where you give up completely and/or you stumble in discouragement.

Saul was a religious fanatic. He had been a “big wheel” in Judaism for years, and suddenly, a man named Jesus of Nazareth who claimed to be the Old Testament LORD God showed up in Israel. According to Saul, Jesus was not only an imposter, but Jesus was also a threat to Saul’s religion! Saul would travel the borders of Israel torturing followers of Jesus Christ. This Pharisaical zealot would persecute anyone who claimed Jesus as Christ and Lord, having them arrested and thrown in prison, or put to death.

In Acts 26:9-11 KJV, Saul (now the Apostle Paul) explains his life prior to salvation:

“9 I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
10 Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.
11 And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.”

And in Galatians 1:13,14 KJV Paul writes:

“13 For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:
14 And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.”

As the Jews stoned their prophet Stephen Saul cheered them on and held their clothes. Saul participated in the murder of yet another messenger of God (Acts 7:58–8:4). How horrible!

After Saul had captured just about every believing Jew in Jerusalem, the chief priest of Israel granted Saul the permission to extradite (send back) any believing Jews who were living in Damascus. Acts chapter 9 is a pivotal point in Bible history: as Saul is angrily riding to Damascus, the ascended Lord Jesus Christ strikes Saul of Tarsus to the ground, blinding him with a great light. Saul of Tarsus, the man who took pride in wreaking havoc on the Jerusalem assembly of believers, was just another of the world’s lost religious zealots. This lofty and hypocritical man was now lying face down on the ground, and now saved by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour!

Saul of Tarsus would become the great Apostle Paul, “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13). Throughout his ministry of about 35 years, the Lord brought Paul through horrible beatings, imprisonments, persecutions, torturing, shipwrecks, and abandonments (1 Corinthians 4:9-13; 2 Corinthians 4:8-10; 2 Corinthians 11:22-27). Never once did Paul forget those times back in Jerusalem, years before, when he “persecuted the church of God, and wasted [destroyed] it” (Galatians 1:11-14). Although he killed the Lord’s followers in unbelief and ignorance, he could never go back and “undo!”

The Lord kept Paul going, and Paul never let his past hinder him. As he wrote to the Philippians, “…forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ” (3:13-14). In other words, look forward to Christ, and do not look back or you will get discouraged!

The poor Apostle “fought the good fight of faith,” day in and day out, suffering along the way (2 Timothy 4:6-8). Not long after writing the epistle of 2 Timothy, Paul went to be in the presence of the Lord. As a wise Christian brother told me, “Paul was no wimp, so we should not be wimps either.” Paul survived because he relied on the Lord, completely; the power was not in Paul’s strength: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

Paul was an ordinary man with an extraordinary God. Everyone is an ordinary person, but every believer in Christ Jesus has an extraordinary God! The Lord will get His children though all these struggles of life, until the trumpet call to go home!

I have many regrets about my own past. For years, I could have allowed the Lord to do His good work in me, but I was ignorant in the Holy Scriptures. I would never discuss with anyone some of those mistakes I have made. But, we all make mistakes, we are all sinners, and we all need salvation. We can never go back to the past and change it. We have the future, so remember, “redeem the time”—buy up the time for God’s glory. Ephesians 5:15-17 KJV says:

“15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”

And Colossians 4:5 says, “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.” So, redeem the time, while you still have the opportunity to redeem it!

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

Is God a Triune God? Does the Bible Teach the Trinity?

March 5, 2009

by Shawn Brasseaux

Does God exist in three Persons? If so, does that mean that Christians worship three Gods? The term “Trinity” does not appear in the Bible, but the word “Godhead” appears three times in the King James Bible (Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20; Colossians 2:9)—modern Bibles, unfortunately, either omit or water down this term. What is the Trinity? Is it a biblical doctrine? We want to answer these questions using the Bible, not some denominational handbook.

One of the strongest claims in the Bible for God existing in three Persons is the “famous Trinitarian proof” (the Johannine Comma) of 1 John 5:7, which reads: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” Obviously, this verse speaks of three Persons all being God, all three being one. Notice, the Godhead is not three Gods; but three Persons in one Godhead. We have God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ, “the Word” of John 1:1,14), and God the Holy Ghost. Notice how the verse says the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost “are one:” this is reminiscent of what Jesus said in John 10:30, “I and my Father are one.”

Unfortunately, unlike the King James Bible, most modern English Bibles, such as NIV, NASB, NRSV, ESV, omit 1 John 5:7 (this is also true of the depraved Jehovah’s Witness “bible,” which denies the deity of Jesus Christ!). Why? Because their corrupt underlying Greek New Testament texts omit this verse. It should be noted that the Old Syriac (A.D. 170) and the Old Latin (A.D. 200) contain 1 John 5:7 and over a dozen church fathers and writers quote it between A.D. 150 and A.D. 550, some predating the corrupt modern Bibles’ manuscripts that omit it. All of 1 John 5:7 belongs in the Bible; it is an important verse! But, there is more in the Bible to support the doctrine of the Trinity.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:1,14 KJV). By noting the wording, we learn that Jesus Christ, “the Word” (cf. Revelation 19:13), is God. According to John 1:14, “the Word became flesh:” unquestionably, that refers to Jesus Christ (God’s incarnation, His indwelling a human body). In the beginning Jesus Christ “was with God” (indicating He is a Person separate from God the Father), and Jesus Christ “was God” (indicating He is one with [equal to] God the Father).

In 2 Corinthians 13:14 KJV, we read: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” Jesus Christ told His apostles, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19 KJV). Yet again, we see God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.

Immediately after John the Baptist water baptized Jesus, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, and as it lighted upon the Lord Jesus, the God the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16,17; Mark 1:10,11; Luke 3:22,23). There are the three Persons of the Godhead in three passages.

Look at Ephesians 2:18 KJV: “For through him [Jesus Christ] we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” Here are all three members of the Godhead again. “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:2 KJV). And again, all three Persons of the Godhead are found in one verse.

At the midpoint of the seven-year Tribulation (which is after the rapture), a remnant of Jewish believers will flee to the mountains of Israel. This remnant is described as “the woman.” In Revelation 12:6 KJV, we see “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” This place in the mountains will be “prepared of God, that they should feed her there….” Notice “they”—this is another reference to the triune Godhead.

In Ephesians 4:4-6, we find a list of seven distinct doctrines that are vital to the Dispensation of Grace—by the way, seven is God’s number of perfection: (1) one Body, the Church the Body of Christ; (2) one Spirit, the Holy Spirit; (3) one hope, the hope of our calling; (4) one Lord, God the Son Jesus Christ; (5) one faith, the faith of Jesus Christ; (6) one baptism, not water baptism, but the supernatural baptism of 1 Corinthians 12:13; and (7) one God and Father. All three members of the Godhead—Father, Son, and Spirit—are mentioned yet again.

In the Person of the Holy Spirit, God indwells us believers and seals us until the “day of redemption;” that is, the rapture (Ephesians 4:30). This Holy Spirit is the same Spirit that indwelt Christ while He was in His earthly ministry (Mark 3:29,30). Jesus Christ, God the Son, prayed to God the Father in Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34, Luke 23:46, and John chapter 17. Obviously, Jesus was not talking to Himself, so He was communicating with God His Father.

The Holy Spirit is not “God’s active force,” but rather the Holy Spirit is a Person of the Godhead (Acts 5:3,4). A force does not have a seat of emotions; we know that the Holy Spirit is not an “active force” because the Holy Spirit can be “grieved” and saddened (Ephesians 4:30). The Holy Spirit can also teach (1 Corinthians 2:13) and pray (Romans 8:26,27).

The Father is not over God the Son, and the God the Son is no greater than the Holy Spirit. All three are coequal in power and authority (however, because Jesus Christ is both God and man, He can, in His humanity, submit Himself to His heavenly Father’s will [see Matthew 26:39,42; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42; Philippians 2:5-11]). Jesus made it very clear, “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all… I and my Father are one” (John 10:29,30)—the Jews then took up stones to stone Jesus (verse 31)!

The best way to comprehend the Godhead is to consider that we are all equally human by nature, but we are also individuals. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are all individuals, but they are all equally God by nature and in essence (all three are omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, righteous, just, holy, et cetera), thus making all three “one” (1 John 5:7).

God existing in a Trinity prevents tyranny or deception. If God were just one Person, He could be a bully and He could be dishonest. However, all three Persons of the Godhead testify to the truthfulness and integrity of the other two members. They testify to the truth of each other, just as Bible says, “At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witness,” the testimony is to be believed—the testimony of one person is not to be accepted unless at least one or two others corroborate him (Deuteronomy 17:6; Matthew 18:16; 2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19; Hebrews 10:28).

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit live for each other. They fellowship with one another, and they want us to fellowship with them! God became a man in order to restore our fellowship with Him. Notice what Jesus Christ prayed to His heavenly Father just before He went to Calvary’s cross: “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:5,24 KJV).

We cannot see all three Persons of the Godhead. However, God the Son stepped out of eternity and entered time, and “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9; cf. John 14:9; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3). Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, so He can take God by the hand and man by the hand and link them (1 Timothy 2:5)! The invisible triune Godhead has been made visible via the God-Man, Jesus Christ!

So, God exists in three Persons—they are three Persons in one Godhead; not three Gods. The three Persons of the Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—are unique Individuals, but they are also similar in that they are all fully God. Indeed, the doctrine of the Godhead—God existing in three Persons—is one of the most difficult Bible concepts to grasp, but we take the doctrine of the Trinity by faith.

 

 

IS THE TRINITY A “NEW TESTAMENT INVENTION?” OR, IS IT FOUND IN THE OLD TESTAMENT TOO?

Opponents to the doctrine of the Trinity claim that it is only a “New Testament teaching,” or that the Trinity promotes polytheism (the belief in many gods). For instance, modern-day Jews reject the doctrine of the Trinity because Deuteronomy 6:4 says: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.” If this verse disproves the Trinity (as present-day Jews claim), then that would mean that Deuteronomy 6:4 contradicts a number of Old Testament passages—verses in the Hebrew Bible—that support the Trinity.

Although God did not explicitly reveal the doctrine of the Trinity in the Old Testament like He does in the New, we can go back to the Old Testament and see references to the Trinity there. Remember that the Bible is a progressive revelation, with things kept secret in the Old Testament and later revealed in the New.

For example, God the Father tells God the Son, “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Psalm 110:1 KJV). Compare this to Acts 2:34-36. If the Trinity is not found in the Old Testament, then what is the meaning of Psalm 110:1?

Genesis 1:26 KJV says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Notice the word “our” appears twice. The triune God made mankind in their image, as in one God in three Persons. In Genesis 3:22, after Adam and Eve fall into sin, we see the LORD God saying, “Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil:” Notice that pronoun “us.” This is a reference to the Trinity. (At this point, the following objection is raised to avoid the Trinity doctrine: “How do we know the words ‘our image’ in Genesis 1:26 do not mean that God made man in His image and the angels’ image?” Because Genesis 1:27 says: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Man is made in “God’s image,” the triune Godhead’s image.)

We read in Genesis 11:6-7 KJV: “And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” Notice, the LORD says “Let us go down.” Like in Genesis 3:22, the “us” is a reference to the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.

In Psalm 2:1-3 KJV, we read the prophetic statement of Israel rejecting her Messiah-King the Lord Jesus (1000 years before it happened):

“1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.”

Notice, Israel’s religious leaders conspire with the Roman government to kill Jesus Christ (verses 1 and 2). Verse 3 says it all—the Jews and Romans want to “break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” To whom is “their” referring? Look at verse 2: “the LORD, and his anointed.” This is God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ (“Christ” is Greek for “anointed one;” in Hebrew, the word is “Messiah”). God the Father and God the Son share power over mankind, and rebellious mankind wants to destroy the Godhead’s authority over them.

Read Isaiah 48:12,16 KJV: “Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last… Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.” This is the Trinity again!

It should also be noted that the Hebrew word translated “God”—Elohim—such as in Genesis 1:1, is plural, as in three Persons, and yet He is one LORD, JEHOVAH (Deuteronomy 6:4).

 
CONCLUSION

Is God a triune God? YES! Does the Bible Teach the doctrine of the Trinity? YES! The Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, gives us ample proof that God is a triune God, that He exists as three separate but equal Persons—God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. They are all fully God, yet they are unique Persons too, just as we are all fully human, yet we are unique persons. All three members of the Godhead operate in perfect accordance with each other, and they are coequal and coeternal (none of them were created, and they exercise the same power).

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

Beware of the Deceptive Wolves (by Nolan Guilbeau)

March 4, 2009

by Nolan Guilbeau – Published in The (Opelousas, Louisiana) Daily World
℅ Shawn Brasseaux

Renowned author Samuel Clemens (pen name Mark Twain) stated, “A lie travels halfway around the world as truth is just beginning to put on its shoes.”

During the early days of church reformer Martin Luther, a contemporary and adversary of Luther was one named Jon Tetzel. In 1503 Tetzel was commissioned by Leo X of Rome with assigned duties to travel the continent of Europe as the Pope’s emissary. His objective was to “sell” church sponsored indulgences, a Roman doctrine in conjunction with the doctrine of purgatory whereas the paying penitent “through indulgences can obtain the remission of temporal punishment resulting from sin for themselves and also for the souls in purgatory.” The funds collected helped finance the building of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Tetzel prided himself as a theologian, shrewd in business, second to none. He proclaimed his motto everywhere he traveled and expressed it with the following jingle, “When the coin in the coffer rings the rescued soul from purgatory springs.”

In one of his journeys through Germany he encountered a nobleman and with his eloquence momentarily persuaded him to purchase for himself and deceased loved ones a large amount of indulgences at a great price of many ducats (gold coins). Receipt in hand, the nobleman curiously pursued the conversation with Tetzel on indulgences and purgatory when suddenly he realized he had been deceived by Tetzel’s forceful presentation of unbiblical doctrines. The nobleman requested the return of his money. Tetzel defiantly refused; an altercation ensued, with Tetzel losing. The nobleman took his refund and left. An enraged Tetzel filed court action and lost.

A message beneficial to society is that the Scriptures warn us to beware of ravenous wolves disguised in sheep’s clothing, whose lying tongues enable them to make merchandise of the unsuspecting (Acts 20:28-30; Ephesians 4:14; Colossians 2:8; 2 Peter 2:1-3). It’s best to be separated unto Biblical truths than to be united in errors of false religion.

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

In Christ’s Debt, Forever

March 3, 2009

by Shawn Brasseaux

On Memorial Day, our nation gathers to remember the brave men and women who gave their lives for the freedoms we now enjoy. How could we ever repay those courageous soldiers who fought on behalf of America, when we were yet born? We cannot thank them, neither can they hear the “thank you” whispered at their gravesites. Nonetheless, I commend them for their contribution and sacrifice.

It is ironic that people acknowledge the work of fellow humans, but treat God worse than they mistreat a stray, vicious, and rabid dog! A small remnant praises the Lord for His finished work on Calvary, but society deems us Christians as “a threat to progress.” Our world is guilty of not only being rebellious, but downright foolish! And yet, God’s grace continues to tolerate them and their ungrateful attitude.

Jesus Christ has set me free from my old nature! I was under the influence of the devil, the god of this world, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who works in the children of disobedience (unbelief). I was dead in my trespasses and sins, now I am dead to sin, and alive unto God through Jesus Christ my Lord! The same power at the heart of Christ’s resurrection is the power that now indwells me and empowers me to have Christian service that pleases God! And I do not have to lift a finger to get any of it! I could thank the Lord every day in prayer, but still never repay Him for all that He has done on my behalf! I can go through every ridiculous rule, regulation, and ritual that religion requires:

  • I could write “Christian” hymns and songs,
  • speak in tongues,
  • go to church every Wednesday and twice on Sunday,
  • sing in the choir,
  • join the church,
  • become a deacon or preacher,
  • get water baptized,
  • walk an aisle,
  • visit the sick,
  • wear religious jewelry,
  • make a profession of faith,
  • sign a visitors’ card,
  • maintain the church lawns,
  • organize the pastor’s office,
  • acquire $1 million,
  • display crucifixes,
  • teach Sunday School,
  • donate to charity,
  • repent of my sins,
  • be an active member in the community,
  • climb a steep mountain to reach a temple,
  • see a vision and/or receive a “divine” revelation,
  • faithfully tithe 10% to a local church,
  • pray often,
  • love God,
  • keep the sacraments,
  • love my neighbor as myself,
  • take communion,
  • memorize a denominational handbook,
  • do penance,
  • and STILL be no closer to heaven than when I started! Why?

None of those have the power of God. And my salvation and going to heaven are totally unrelated to my works and my performance in religion. I cannot work for my salvation. I am a sinner, and I first need to realize that I am lost, on my way to hell as someone who “has fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9 KJV). “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:28 KJV). “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness”  (Romans 4:5 KJV). “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31 KJV).

The Gospel of the Grace of God is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). My salvation is not in what I do, but in the finished crosswork of Christ on Calvary! I can do whatever I want, however much I want, but it will get me nowhere if I am trying to merit salvation or favor with God. No matter what I do, I am a sinner, and my sins must be dealt with. That is why Jesus Christ came to die for my sins, to shed his sinless blood to make atonement for me. Jesus Christ came and accomplished what I could never do—save me from my sins and the everlasting lake of fire. If it took God Almighty to die in my place and resurrect the third day, HOW DARE I TRY TO COME ALONG WITH MY “TWO CENTS” and try to add to that which is perfect (the finished crosswork of Christ). I am saved forever solely because of Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork on Calvary, and I will be in Christ’s debt, forever….

THE PURE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD (1 Corinthians 15:1-4 KJV)

“1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

Friend, trust in this Gospel alone and God will save you forever.

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

Grow Up: Toss Away the Baby Bottle!

March 3, 2009

by Shawn Brasseaux

On December 20, 2008, my niece Kamryn celebrated her third birthday, and as of yesterday, my nephew Logan is eight months old. They certainly have grown quite a bit: Kamryn is talking, learning new words and Bible verses and songs, and Logan is turning himself over, smiling, laughing, cooing, crawling, and trying to talk. Neither of them will stay a small child forever—and this is good because we want them to grow up and mature into adults.

But, how many decades-long church members are still in a state of spiritual immaturity, having never grown in God’s Word? For instance, some people have been church members for 50 years, but they have only been taught men’s ideas and church tradition. Sadly, many of them are still “just as lost as a goose.” For many of those who are saved, and have sat in a denominational church for decades, they know as much sound Bible doctrine as a person who has never been to church or read the Bible. These poor people are not being taught God’s Word rightly divided: they are only hearing God’s Word from the viewpoint of a denomination or pastor. I personally know hundreds of these people; in fact, I used to be one of them.

In 1 Peter 2:2 KJV, the Apostle Peter wrote to the Jews: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” Now, these Jews were already saved, so Peter was not referring to their “growing into salvation” (as modern English Bibles erroneously teach in this verse). Peter meant that these kingdom believers (Jews) should grow in the faith and in the knowledge of the Scriptures. The Apostle Peter concludes his last epistle with (2 Peter 3:18): “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.”

“Baby Christians” grow spiritually by studying God’s Word rightly divided (that is, using dispensational Bible study). The Corinthians were “carnal” (fleshly, worldly) because they struggled with arguments and divisions/denominations (1 Corinthians 1:11-13). In 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, Paul tells these believers in Corinth that he knows they are not spiritual. He writes that they are “babes in Christ,” spiritually immature, unable to eat solid spiritual food.

“1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”

The writer of Hebrews chides spiritually immature Israel in Hebrews 5:11-14 KJV. Notice:

“11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

The book of Hebrews addresses Jews who were unlearned, “dull of hearing.” Instead of being able to teach the Bible to others, they had to re-learn even the basics of Scripture (cf. Hebrews 6:1-3)! These Jews were “babes” spiritually, and just like the Corinthians, they could only digest spiritual milk (the Bible basics) instead of solid spiritual food (the more complicated Bible doctrines). What a travesty! Yet, unfortunately, the same is true today of billions of professing Christians. They know little to nothing about what the Bible actually says.

New Christians need to get into the deeper doctrines of Scriptures, and not just rely on basic concepts of the Word like doctrine in the Old Testament and the Four Gospel Records. Every believer needs to know the “mysteries” (secrets) that can only be found in Paul’s 13 epistles. Believers in Christ today are “stewards [managers] of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1-2). Christians should understand these grace doctrines (the doctrines found in Romans through Philemon), and they should be telling others about them. However, very few church members know anything about the mysteries of Paul’s writings, for church tradition does not recognize the special ministry the ascended Lord gave unto the Apostle Paul.

Usually, churches focus on Matthew through John (Christ’s earthly ministry), rather than emphasizing Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon (Christ’s heavenly ministry). Because of this widespread failure to understand the importance of Paul’s ministry, very few church members are able to teach others the Pauline truths of God’s Word (God’s Word to us today is in Paul’s epistles alone). God said of Israel, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). God says the same thing about the Church the Body of Christ today!

God wants us Christians, His children, to grow spiritually. He wants us to memorize Scripture so that we can then apply those scriptural truths to their lives. By studying our King James Bibles—specifically, using dispensational Bible study, “rightly dividing the word of truth” as 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV commands—we are then enabled to put those Biblical principles into practice so the lost world can see Christ living in us (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:3-6; 1 Thessalonians 1:4-9; 1 Thessalonians 2:13). The more we learn from the Scriptures, the more capable we will to successfully discern what is good and what is evil (Hebrews 5:14). This in turn will help us better equip and teach other believers, and ensure that we and those that listen to us are not deceived by false teaching (see 1 Timothy 4:16).

Ephesians 4:11-16 KJV says:

“11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”

God wants His believers “edified,” built up, “no more children” who are “tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine.” As long as we stay in God’s Word (the King James Bible) rightly divided, we will not fall prey to Satan’s deception.

God wants us Christians to “grow up into him [Christ Jesus] in all things.” He wants us “to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). The Lord wants us to better understand what He is doing today, so we can then go in faith and participate in accomplishing His will! The only way we will grow and reach a spiritually maturity is by studying and believing God’s Word, God’s way (dispensational Bible study). We read in 2 Timothy 3:16,17 KJV:

“16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

Saints, get off the baby bottle, and grow up! God wants mature Christian believers, so “put away childish things,” and speak and think as a spiritual adult (1 Corinthians 13:11). Grow up!

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

Earth: The Devil’s Domain

March 3, 2009

by Shawn Brasseaux

“[Our Lord Jesus Christ] Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:” (Galatians 1:4 KJV).

A few months ago, I saw a television program titled “Hell: The Devil’s Domain.” Currently the devil is not in hell. Satan is alive and well, and carrying out his work on earth! As of right now, earth—not hell—is the devil’s domain. God has allowed Satan to have free roam on earth to do almost anything he wants. The activity of Satan is called “the policy of evil.”

The Book of Job is one of the most obvious portions of Scripture to confirm that Earth is the devil’s domain. In Job 1:6,7 (and Job 2:1,2), an angelic host comes before the Lord, and Satan is among them. When God questions Satan as to where he was, Satan responds: “going to and fro in the earth.” Satan never mentioned hell because Satan was roaming free here on earth! By walking around on earth, Satan is indicating that he, not God, is exercising power on earth. This is why John 12:31 and John 14:30 call Satan “the prince of this world.” And this is why Ephesians 6:12 speaks of “the rulers of the darkness of this world.”

Even the Creator God was subject to the devil’s temptations when He became flesh and came to earth! Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man, but Satan even tempted Jesus. Obviously, Jesus was never on the verge of sinning and giving in to the devil, but Satan tried his hardest to negotiate with God the Son. According to Matthew 4:8,9 (and Luke 4:5-7), Satan promised to give the Lord Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would simply bow and worship Satan! Matthew 4:8,9 KJV say:

“8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.”

And Luke 4:5-7 KJV says:

“5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.”

Why was Satan willing to give Jesus the world’s kingdoms? Satan had possession of them all! Little did Satan know that during the Millennial Reign of Christ, the Lord would possess all those kingdoms anyway (Revelation 11:15)!

The Bible says in 1 John 5:19 KJV: “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” Why? The devil is the “god of this world” who uses works-religion to hide the Gospel of the Grace of God from lost people, so they go to hell (2 Corinthians 4:3,4). Satan is hindering as much of the Lord’s work as he can (1 Thessalonians 2:18). After the creation of Adam and Eve, God gave them dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26-28). Satan gained control of the world once man fell into sin (Romans 5:12; 2 Corinthians 4:3,4), and has been ruling the world—with God’s permission, of course—for nearly 6,000 years!

The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:15,16 that Christians should “walk circumspectly [diligently, carefully], not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Our world is full of iniquity, which is basically what the Apostle Paul told the Thessalonica believers in 2 Thessalonians 2:7: “the mystery of iniquity doth already work.”

If the devil were not powerful in this world today, why does God’s Word warning us of the spiritual warfare between good and evil in Ephesians 6:11-20? In order to have a peaceful 1000 years during the earthly reign of Jesus Christ, Satan will have to be bound for 1000 years in the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:1-3). After being loosed for a short time, the devil will be consigned to the eternal lake of fire to suffer for all the misery, confusion, and rebellion he has caused on earth (Revelation 20:7-10).

Until the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, the earth will remain, the devil’s domain….

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Posted by Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

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