Archive for the ‘All’ Category

The Gospel of Christ

Aaron | April 8, 2010 in All, Salvation | Comments (0)

The first time “the gospel of Christ” shows up in the Bible is in Romans 1:16, where Paul says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation.”  Many people know the word gospel means good news.  The bad news is most people will not accept it.  The sad news is that rejecting the good news puts a person in hell the moment they die.  According to the Bible “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  According to the Bible “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).  No one needs to go to hell when they die. The Bible declares, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).  You see before the world was even created by God, He had a plan of salvation in mind.  He knew men would sin if given free will.  He could have made us without free will, but then God was looking for more than that when He made man.  He wanted not only to love man, but also to be loved by man.  He desired fellowship. Imagine your creator wanted to fellowship with you!  God cannot fellowship with sinners, for He Himself is holy and completely righteous.  Are there not people you see from time to time that you believe are just too bad for you to want to be friends with?  Yet you are a sinner also, but God is holy. He loved us so much “that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).  Everlasting life with God!  God wants to be our friend!  Ever wondered why you were here? Have you searched for purpose in life?  Want to know God’s will for you personally?  It’s very simple (so is the gospel by the way) “for thou has created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11). You were created for God’s pleasure.  We cannot please God as sinners in our sin. The good news is that God’s Son died for our sin.  God has given us His gospel (good news) very plainly.  Man has made it complicated through many religions.  1 Corintians 15:1-4 gives us the gospel in short order: “moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have recieved, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you unless ye have believed in vain.”  (Believing the gospel is something other than Paul preached.) “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also recieved, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;” (not according to some other books) “And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”  (not according to some religion that was man made).  The gospel then is three parts: First Jesus Christ died for our sins.  Secondly, he was buried for us.  Thirdly, he rose from the dead for us.  It was our sins that caused Jesus to die on the cross of calvary.  We should be very thankful to God for that.  Only God can take away our sins.  Only God could take the punishment for our sins.  God, the judge of the whole earth, set the penalty for sin (punishment in hell forever); but since His Son who is part of the Godhead (Colossians 2:9)never sinned or even could sin, He was able to take our sins and yet not go to hell forever.  Isaiah 53:10a says, “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him.”   Verse 11 states ” He shall see the travail of His soul,”  (on the cross) “and shall be satisfied”.  It goes on to say, “my Righteous Servant [shall] justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.”  Iniquities are sins or transgressions agains God’s laws.  Jesus is truely the only way to escape hell, and go to heaven the day that we die.  Jesus himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”  Many preachers are saying today that there are other ways to be saved, which is calling Jesus a liar.  No matter how sincere a person is about his religion, all other roads lead to hell.  Take the high road; take Jesus.  If you take Jesus, He will take you.  “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (name of Jesus) (Romans 10:13)  This alone is the Gospel of Christ, which truly is good news!

Written by Jerry Lisby

The Christian’s Predicament

Aaron | February 12, 2010 in All, The Scriptures | Comments (1)

The Christian’s Predicament:

The Bible

God’s Word: the most precious possession, yea, and the most precious revelation we have on this earth! If you’re a Christian, is it not your life, your very sustenance? Oh what it is to remember that it is not even our food that sustains us:

“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” –Matt. 4:4

Is it your most prized possession?

“The LAW of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the TESTIMONY of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The STATUTES of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the COMMANDMENT of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The FEAR of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the JUDGMENTS of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.” (Ps. 19:7-11)

Is it not more to be desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb? Without it how could we walk through this life? How would we be warned? Where would be our great reward? How could we hear the words, “This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” (Isa. 30:21b)? Without the written Word we could not know what the spoken Word was, oh how I praise God that He has preserved His living Word for me!

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My WORDS shall not pass away.” (Matt. 24:35, Mar. 13:31 & Luk. 21:23)

He told us this three times! Even if He told us once I believe it is a promise we can cleave to! Amen? What would we do without God’s Word? What if there was not such a thing? Would there be a church? Would you be saved, born again? Would you know what true sacrificial love is? Would you know what God’s name is? Would you know how God created the world? What would you say to the lost and hurting? Would you have to follow the Koran, the Hadith, the Bhagavad Gita, ‘science’ etc.? Yes, praise God that He has given us His Word! I trust that it is precious to you.  I know that it is to Him, “I will worship toward Thy holy temple, and praise Thy name for Thy lovingkindness and for Thy truth: for Thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy name.” (Ps. 138:2)

God takes His Word very seriously, should we? Consider what He says toward the beginning of the Bible,

“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” (Deu. 4:2)

He commands us not to add or diminish any of His Word, towards the middle of the Bible it says,

“Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Prov. 30:5&6)

Again He says His Word is pure; don’t add to it! And He finishes His revelation to us with these words,

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” (Rev. 22:18&19)

So, I think it is safe to say that God has given us benchmarks throughout His Word warning us that to add or to take away from any of His words is pretty much calling down much calamity, perils and destruction on ourselves.

The predicament we wish to address is that of the inspiration and preservation of the Words of God. If God cares so much about His Word are we not to care also (“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;” Eph. 5:1)?

The predicament we Christians actually have is with all the different texts and translations that are supposed to be His Word. As we are sure you perceived from the verses we have already shared with you we are using the King James Bible! Do you see the problem? We would think that if you did you probably gasped when you first saw us quoting it. You may have asked, “How dare they use the King James Bible! Do they know how corrupt that is?!”

What? You didn’t say that? We desire to show you how this could be a reasonable reaction from both directions whether you are using a KJB or a modern version, you would just have to substitute the ‘King James Bible’ in the phrase above with any other version. (“How dare he use the ‘NIV, NASV, TLB, ESV, RSV, NLT, NEB, etc.’! Does he know how corrupt that is?!”)

Keep this in mind, if you add or subtract from God’s word it is a SERIOUS OFFENSE! Why is there, in Christendom today, such a nonchalant attitude about this? Is there any out there that are willing to zealously proclaim the infallibility and preservation of the greatest gift mankind has received? Many have said that we must stand up for the Genesis account of history and young creation and we agree, but who is going to stand up and actually believe those words that tell us of creation were kept for us –all of those words – by almighty God? The Word is our very life; we must esteem His words better than our necessary food even as Job did (Job 23:12)!

Please keep this in mind as we show you these following passages, we will put the differences between versions in capital bold letters:

John 3:13

NIV “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.”

NASV “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.”

ESV “No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.”

KJV “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man WHICH IS IN HEAVEN.”

Here there are four more words in the KJV that are not in the other versions. This is either a subtraction of God’s Word perpetrated by the modern versions OR it is an addition to God’s Word perpetrated by the KJV, let’s go on…

Matthew 5:22

NIV “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

NASV “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

ESV “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

KJV “But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother WITHOUT A CAUSE shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”

Again, the Greek translated into English has three more words in the KJV that are not in the others. What is the deal? We have a major problem here either in the KJV or in the other translations.

Matthew 17:21

NIV (nothing)

NASV ["[a] But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”] The footnote says, “Matthew 17:21 Early mss do not contain this v”

ESV (nothing)

KJV “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”

Here we finally see what is going on.  The modern translations are using different manuscripts than the KJV as the footnote in the NASV says. But which ones are the correct ones? Again, the KJV has twelve (12) Greek words that are not in the manuscripts that the modern translations are using. This is either an addition to God’s word (JESUS didn’t say it) or this is a major subtraction to His Word (a parallel passage in Mark 9:29 in the modern translations has our Lord giving the instruction that this kind comes out not but by prayer but does not have ‘and fasting’ as the KJV does, it is either that our Lord did not ever instruct us to fast and pray in the case of demonic possession or He really did).

1 Timothy 3:16

NIV “Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.”

NASV “By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:
He who was revealed in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory.”

ESV “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.”

KJV “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: GOD was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

Here we have “He” instead of “God” was manifest in the flesh.

We as a people in general and more specifically as Christians like to know if something is going to work before we try it. We ask ourselves how beneficial it will really be to us and kind of put honoring God on the same or lower level of importance when making decisions.  But, since I am talking to Christians, we must make it an absolute priority to honor God first regardless of how things turn out (and this is sound advice to the lost as well).

There are many things out there that we must deal with within the Christian arena and within our walk after Christ.  As you grow as a Christian you begin to be confronted with many doctrines and learn many things about your faith. As you walk toward God trying to know Him and love Him and just live in a relationship with Him you will come across many subjects in which you will feel you have to take a stand either way, or just throw up your hands and say, “I don’t know!” And as I would caution taking the later route because we should have faith that the LORD giveth wisdom (Prov. 2:6) there are some serious areas where I believe He has revealed to us that we can remain babes in the faith and remain content that we may never know the answer.

The subject in which I am addressing in this letter is not, I believe, one of those areas. Many times there are clear dichotomies in Scripture. For instance, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matt. 6:24) Here is laid out a clear choice and there is no gray area.

So the question we wish to ask you, dear Christian, is what will be your choice? What Bible will you use (as an English speaker and reader)? A liberal translation? A conservative one? What will be our standard? Should we have a standard? Do we, as Christians, need to be on the same page or is it really all about “me”?

All versions of the Bible use a Hebrew and Greek text that contain some Aramaic. The Greek text that is produced by modern textual critics for popular Bibles such as the NASB, the NIV or the ESV is much shorter than the Received Text New Testament of the KJB. It is shorter by 2,886 words. This is comparable to removing the entire books of 1 and 2 Peter from the Bible (Jack Moorman, Missing in Modern Bibles: Is the full Story Being Told, Bible for Today, 1981). This is a very serious situation and I pray you have the conviction to take it seriously. Modern versions remove or question dozens of entire verses:

Matthew 17:21; 18:11; 23:14

Mark 7:16; 9:44, 46; 11:26; 15:28; 16:9-20

Luke 17:36; 23:17

John 5:4; 7:53-8:11

Acts 8:37; 15:34; 24:7; 28:29

Romans 16:24

1 John 5:7

This is either an addition to the Word of God perpetrated by the KJB (which means corruption) or deletion to the Word of God perpetrated by the modern versions (which means corruption). As I’ve tried to show, the Bible warns at least three times about adding to or taking away from the Word of God (Deut. 4:4; Prov. 30:5-6; Rev. 22:18-19) so logically one cannot be Biblical and believe that both lines of text are true at the same time.

I will just ask you this: Do you believe that the Bible is the infallible Word of God? What Scripture do you use to back up that claim? Would you call that Scripture an ‘air-tight’, ‘case-closed’ proof? How perfectly would you say these Scriptures support your belief that God inspired His Word? 10%? 25%? 65%? 90%? 100%? What Scripture gives you assurance that He has done so? Have you gone through every word of your Bible and had confirmed in your spirit that they are the infallible Words of Almighty God?

Now, do you believe that God preserved His Word? What Scripture do you use to back up that claim? Would you call that Scripture an ‘air-tight’, ‘case-closed’ proof? How perfectly would you say that these Scriptures support your belief that God has preserved His Word and to what percentage would you say they suggest He has? 10%? 25%? 65%? 90%? 100%? What Scripture gives you the assurance that He has done so? Do have one standard for the inspiration of God’s Word and another standard for the preservation of God’s Word? Do you believe that God’s Word is 100% inspired and 90% preserved? What Scripture backs you up on this point? Do both Scripture proofs on the inspiration and the preservation give you equal backing to support this belief? Have you gone through every word of your Bible and had confirmed in your spirit that they are the preserved Words of Almighty God?

We believe that God has perfectly (100%) inspired His Word. And we believe that those words are perfectly (100%) preserved for us and we can actually HOLD IT in our hands today and say confidently (100%), “thus saith the LORD!” You can call us crazy but we believe for the English speaking people it is found in the King James Bible.

This writing is given as a primer to this controversial subject. We believe that the devil has not ceased in his attack on the Word of God from the first time he challenged it (“yea, hath God said,..?”) and that the devilish effects of Docetism, Marcionism, Gnosticism and Allegoricalism can readily be seen in the texts that the vast, vast majority of Modern Versions seek to employ. The numerous readings that weaken and remove the testimony of the deity of our LORD JESUS Christ are a travesty that we believe are NOT the preserved Word of God.

Do you see the predicament we have dear Christian? If you hold a ESV/NASB/NIV/etc. in your hand as a bible we would say that it is a corruption of Word of God. Would you be consistent when we hold a King James Bible in our hands and say that it is corrupt?

God’s Word: the most precious possession, yea, and the most precious revelation we have on this earth! If you’re a Christian, is it not your life, your very sustenance? Oh what it is to remember that it is not even our food that sustains us:

“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” –Matt. 4:4

Is it your most prized possession?

“The LAW of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the TESTIMONY of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The STATUTES of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the COMMANDMENT of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The FEAR of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the JUDGMENTS of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.” (Ps. 19:7-11)

Is it not more to be desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb? Without it how could we walk through this life? How would we be warned? Where would be our great reward? How could we hear the words, “This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” (Isa. 30:21b)? Without the written Word we could not know what the spoken Word was, oh how I praise God that He has preserved His living Word for me!

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My WORDS shall not pass away.” (Matt. 24:35, Mar. 13:31 & Luk. 21:23)

He told us this three times! Even if He told us once I believe it is a promise we can cleave to! Amen? What would we do without God’s Word? What if there was not such a thing? Would there be a church? Would you be saved, born again? Would you know what true sacrificial love is? Would you know what God’s name is? Would you know how God created the world? What would you say to the lost and hurting? Would you have to follow the Koran, the Hadith, the Bhagavad Gita, ‘science’ etc.? Yes, praise God that He has given us His Word! I trust that it is precious to you.  I know that it is to Him, “I will worship toward Thy holy temple, and praise Thy name for Thy lovingkindness and for Thy truth: for Thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy name.” (Ps. 138:2)

God takes His Word very seriously, should we? Consider what He says toward the beginning of the Bible,

“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” (Deu. 4:2)

He commands us not to add or diminish any of His Word, towards the middle of the Bible it says,

“Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Prov. 30:5&6)

Again He says His Word is pure; don’t add to it! And He finishes His revelation to us with these words,

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” (Rev. 22:18&19)

So, I think it is safe to say that God has given us benchmarks throughout His Word warning us that to add or to take away from any of His words is pretty much calling down much calamity, perils and destruction on ourselves.

The predicament we wish to address is that of the inspiration and preservation of the Words of God. If God cares so much about His Word are we not to care also (“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;” Eph. 5:1)?

The predicament we Christians actually have is with all the different texts and translations that are supposed to be His Word. As we are sure you perceived from the verses we have already shared with you we are using the King James Bible! Do you see the problem? We would think that if you did you probably gasped when you first saw us quoting it. You may have asked, “How dare they use the King James Bible! Do they know how corrupt that is?!”

What? You didn’t say that? We desire to show you how this could be a reasonable reaction from both directions whether you are using a KJB or a modern version, you would just have to substitute the ‘King James Bible’ in the phrase above with any other version. (“How dare he use the ‘NIV, NASV, TLB, ESV, RSV, NLT, NEB, etc.’! Does he know how corrupt that is?!”)

Keep this in mind, if you add or subtract from God’s word it is a SERIOUS OFFENSE! Why is there, in Christendom today, such a nonchalant attitude about this? Is there any out there that are willing to zealously proclaim the infallibility and preservation of the greatest gift mankind has received? Many have said that we must stand up for the Genesis account of history and young creation and we agree, but who is going to stand up and actually believe those words that tell us of creation were kept for us –all of those words – by almighty God? The Word is our very life; we must esteem His words better than our necessary food even as Job did (Job 23:12)!

Please keep this in mind as we show you these following passages, we will put the differences between versions in capital bold letters:

John 3:13

NIV “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.”

NASV “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.”

ESV “No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.”

KJV “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man WHICH IS IN HEAVEN.”

Here there are four more words in the KJV that are not in the other versions. This is either a subtraction of God’s Word perpetrated by the modern versions OR it is an addition to God’s Word perpetrated by the KJV, let’s go on…

Matthew 5:22

NIV “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

NASV “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

ESV “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

KJV “But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother WITHOUT A CAUSE shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”

Again, the Greek translated into English has three more words in the KJV that are not in the others. What is the deal? We have a major problem here either in the KJV or in the other translations.

Matthew 17:21

NIV (nothing)

NASV ["[a] But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”] The footnote says, “Matthew 17:21 Early mss do not contain this v”

ESV (nothing)

KJV “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”

Here we finally see what is going on.  The modern translations are using different manuscripts than the KJV as the footnote in the NASV says. But which ones are the correct ones? Again, the KJV has twelve (12) Greek words that are not in the manuscripts that the modern translations are using. This is either an addition to God’s word (JESUS didn’t say it) or this is a major subtraction to His Word (a parallel passage in Mark 9:29 in the modern translations has our Lord giving the instruction that this kind comes out not but by prayer but does not have ‘and fasting’ as the KJV does, it is either that our Lord did not ever instruct us to fast and pray in the case of demonic possession or He really did).

1 Timothy 3:16

NIV “Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.”

NASV “By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:
He who was revealed in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory.”

ESV “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.”

KJV “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: GOD was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

Here we have “He” instead of “God” was manifest in the flesh.

We as a people in general and more specifically as Christians like to know if something is going to work before we try it. We ask ourselves how beneficial it will really be to us and kind of put honoring God on the same or lower level of importance when making decisions.  But, since I am talking to Christians, we must make it an absolute priority to honor God first regardless of how things turn out (and this is sound advice to the lost as well).

There are many things out there that we must deal with within the Christian arena and within our walk after Christ.  As you grow as a Christian you begin to be confronted with many doctrines and learn many things about your faith. As you walk toward God trying to know Him and love Him and just live in a relationship with Him you will come across many subjects in which you will feel you have to take a stand either way, or just throw up your hands and say, “I don’t know!” And as I would caution taking the later route because we should have faith that the LORD giveth wisdom (Prov. 2:6) there are some serious areas where I believe He has revealed to us that we can remain babes in the faith and remain content that we may never know the answer.

The subject in which I am addressing in this letter is not, I believe, one of those areas. Many times there are clear dichotomies in Scripture. For instance, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matt. 6:24) Here is laid out a clear choice and there is no gray area.

So the question we wish to ask you, dear Christian, is what will be your choice? What Bible will you use (as an English speaker and reader)? A liberal translation? A conservative one? What will be our standard? Should we have a standard? Do we, as Christians, need to be on the same page or is it really all about “me”?

All versions of the Bible use a Hebrew and Greek text that contain some Aramaic. The Greek text that is produced by modern textual critics for popular Bibles such as the NASB, the NIV or the ESV is much shorter than the Received Text New Testament of the KJB. It is shorter by 2,886 words. This is comparable to removing the entire books of 1 and 2 Peter from the Bible (Jack Moorman, Missing in Modern Bibles: Is the full Story Being Told, Bible for Today, 1981). This is a very serious situation and I pray you have the conviction to take it seriously. Modern versions remove or question dozens of entire verses:

Matthew 17:21; 18:11; 23:14

Mark 7:16; 9:44, 46; 11:26; 15:28; 16:9-20

Luke 17:36; 23:17

John 5:4; 7:53-8:11

Acts 8:37; 15:34; 24:7; 28:29

Romans 16:24

1 John 5:7

This is either an addition to the Word of God perpetrated by the KJB (which means corruption) or deletion to the Word of God perpetrated by the modern versions (which means corruption). As I’ve tried to show, the Bible warns at least three times about adding to or taking away from the Word of God (Deut. 4:4; Prov. 30:5-6; Rev. 22:18-19) so logically one cannot be Biblical and believe that both lines of text are true at the same time.

I will just ask you this: Do you believe that the Bible is the infallible Word of God? What Scripture do you use to back up that claim? Would you call that Scripture an ‘air-tight’, ‘case-closed’ proof? How perfectly would you say these Scriptures support your belief that God inspired His Word? 10%? 25%? 65%? 90%? 100%? What Scripture gives you assurance that He has done so? Have you gone through every word of your Bible and had confirmed in your spirit that they are the infallible Words of Almighty God?

Now, do you believe that God preserved His Word? What Scripture do you use to back up that claim? Would you call that Scripture an ‘air-tight’, ‘case-closed’ proof? How perfectly would you say that these Scriptures support your belief that God has preserved His Word and to what percentage would you say they suggest He has? 10%? 25%? 65%? 90%? 100%? What Scripture gives you the assurance that He has done so? Do have one standard for the inspiration of God’s Word and another standard for the preservation of God’s Word? Do you believe that God’s Word is 100% inspired and 90% preserved? What Scripture backs you up on this point? Do both Scripture proofs on the inspiration and the preservation give you equal backing to support this belief? Have you gone through every word of your Bible and had confirmed in your spirit that they are the preserved Words of Almighty God?

We believe that God has perfectly (100%) inspired His Word. And we believe that those words are perfectly (100%) preserved for us and we can actually HOLD IT in our hands today and say confidently (100%), “thus saith the LORD!” You can call us crazy but we believe for the English speaking people it is found in the King James Bible.

This writing is given as a primer to this controversial subject. We believe that the devil has not ceased in his attack on the Word of God from the first time he challenged it (“yea, hath God said,..?”) and that the devilish effects of Docetism, Marcionism, Gnosticism and Allegoricalism can readily be seen in the texts that the vast, vast majority of Modern Versions seek to employ. The numerous readings that weaken and remove the testimony of the deity of our LORD JESUS Christ are a travesty that we believe are NOT the preserved Word of God.

Do you see the predicament we have dear Christian? If you hold a ESV/NASB/NIV/etc. in your hand as a bible we would say that it is a corruption of Word of God. Would you be consistent when we hold a King James Bible in our hands and say that it is corrupt?


Music

Aaron | January 30, 2010 in All, Holiness, Music | Comments (3)

Warning: We are about to open a

The topic of music, this is a really good one.  In this topic, we will discuss what the Bible teaches us about music and the purpose of it.

We’ll start with the premise.  What does God say about holiness?  What Does God say about identification?  Who are we to identify with?  Are we supposed to fit in with everyone else?  Should the music we listen to and play be the same music as the rest of the world?  Are “Christians” to be separated from the world? (separation will be dealt with in more detail in another topic) However, our premise is that of separation.  The following verses deal with the separation of the Christian:

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15-17).

“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Rom. 12:2).

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:11-12).

“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Eph. 5:11).

God even dealt with separation in Israel:

“Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them” (Ezek. 22:26).

Now that we have set our premise, the discussion will begin.  Come back soon and come back often to join the discussion.  This is topic is one that has plagued the churches today with worldliness and it is very important that this topic be fully understood in a Biblical manner.


Bible Versions

Aaron | January 28, 2010 in All, The Scriptures | Comments (2)

Our first topic is the Bible itself.  There is much debate out there concerning the Bible versions and which one is right and which ones are not.  Let me start out by saying that they all have differences and things that are different are not the same.  I’m not talking about printing errors or things like that, I’m talking about many words being different and missing or added.

We will begin with our premise for this doctrine.  Our premise is that God said that He would preserve His Word in the Scriptures.  The following passages deal with preservation:

“For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89).

“Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever” (Psalm 119:152)

“Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” (Psalm 119:160).

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” (Isaiah 40:8)

“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Mat. 5:18).

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Mat. 24:35)
“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you”  (1Pet. 1:23-25)

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (Rev. 22:18-19)

This will be a long discussion but well worth it.  That which we consider to be the Word of God is very important.  John 1 says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”  So you see, the doctrine we have concerning the Word of God effects what we think about God Himself.

Please return often and this topic will continue to develop.  We will deal with many of the the opinions out there and discuss Scripture about this topic and the history of the Bible as well as many other things so that we may say that we have studied thoroughly the doctrine of God’s Word.


Welcome!

Aaron | January 27, 2010 in All | Comments (0)

Hello readers and welcome to your home for doctrinal challenge!  This site is to introduce you to various Bible doctrines that have been challenged throughout history and our goal is to bring a Biblical answer for many different doctrines from the most basic to the very controversial.  By nature, this site will most likely become a site that is use by many to find Bible answers to the most controversial topics out there.  Therefore, most of the content will probably become controversial.  That’s OK, just keep coming back and reading, if you have any questions please feel free to ask and leave your comments if things don’t quit seem right and you need further clarification on something.

Disclaimer: I do not in any way claim to be a Bible expert nor do I believe that there is a person on the planet that can say that they are.  Therefore, I will attempt to do all that I can to make sure that all of the content found here is of a Biblical nature and that everything can be traced back to a Biblical precept.

Come back often and give your input.  Happy Reading!


Get Adobe Flash playerPlugin by wpburn.com wordpress themes