1 “These things I have spoken to you that you not be caused to stumble.” (John 16:1 translated from the NA28 Greek text)

When our Lord spoke of the “things” He spoke of in order that believers “not be caused to stumble,” above  He was referring to John 15:18-25, which is the fact that those who are truly in Christ will be hated by the world just as our Lord was. Our Lord made it an imperative that we understand that this is true, but also that we do not have to contend with this alone. In John 15:26-27, the promise of the Helper, the Holy Spirit, is given again. Those who have the Holy Spirit are genuine believers and they bear witness about Christ because that is what the Holy Spirit does. Continue reading →

14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 16 Or what agreement has a sanctuary of God with idols? For we are a sanctuary of the living God; just as God said, “I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. 17 Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN, And I will welcome you. 18 AND I WILL BE A FATHER TO YOU, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” SAYS THE LORD ALMIGHTY. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (LSB) 

As I have stated several times, I have been doing hours and hours of research on the various Eschatological views that we have all had to deal with. It is utterly amazing how confusing this gets if you dig down past the veneer of each one to look at each one’s foundation and then see the inconsistencies, the outright attempts to say something is Biblical when it is found nowhere in Scripture, the overwhelming use of Biblical Eisegesis and cherry picking of scripture rather than relying solely on solid Biblical Exegesis and context…. Continue reading →

15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 (LSB) 

Genuine Christianity is vastly different than the religiosity and Churchianity all around us. I remember as a much younger Christian as I studied eschatology, that we always assumed that the attacks on Christians during the close of the end of this age would come from the secular, from the evil that is opposed to everything about our faith. However, over the last several years as I have battled in the truth war and studied the writings of the reformers, Puritans, and men such as C.H. Spurgeon, it has become clear that the visible church is mostly anti-Christian. On the other hand, God has His saints in the invisible Church kept secure and is continually growing them in maturity, transforming them through continual mind renewal through immersion into His Word. Continue reading →

1 Now we ask you, brothers, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken in your mind or be alarmed whether by a spirit or a word or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 (LSB) Read verses 3-4 on the site.

I am not an eschatology “expert” or “specialist.” I believe eschatology is important and we should learn as much as we can from God’s Word about it because it is the fulfillment of God’s plan for His creation and His people. All I know to do is to look at what God’s Word says, keep it in context and make room for the Holy Spirit to write those truths on our hearts. Therefore, let us look at the Biblical term “Day the Lord.” Continue reading →

1 And calling the twelve together, He gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. 2 And He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 And He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; nor have two tunics apiece. 4 And whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city. 5 And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 And departing, they were going throughout the villages, proclaiming the gospel and healing everywhere. Luke 9:1-6 (LSB) 

The New Testament Church was begun by God working through Jesus’ Apostles. They had a divine commission to preach the Gospel accompanied by miraculous works. These men obeyed God and, after Jesus ascended to the Father, they planted churches…. Continue reading →

16 And Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may surely eat; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it; for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17 (LSB) 

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which Yahweh God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”  Genesis 3:1-6 (LSB) Read verse 2-6 and Genesis 3:19 on the site.

The doctrine of original sin is a vital part of genuine Christian orthodoxy. As a young Christian I didn’t really appreciate how important it is in our concept of the depths of our guilt before our Sovereign and thrice Holy God….. Continue reading →

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. 4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:1-6 (LSB) Read verses 5-6 on the site.

It is one thing to confess Christ or profess to be a Christian and quite another to live and walk before the face of God within that confession or profession in obedience to God and His Word. There are so many in our time who claim to be Christians, but whose lives are marked by them speaking and living according to the world and its ways… Continue reading →

10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; 11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: 12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; 13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; 14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; 15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: Proverbs 2:10-15 (KJV)

This afternoon I took my youngest grandson Bible shopping at our local Christian bookstore. He excitedly kept telling me about what new Bible he wanted. I had given an ESV Study Bible to his older brother for Christmas this past year. He kept hinting that he wanted something like that, but then again, he really liked reading his other grandparent’s KJV bibles so I told him when we got there that I was going to look for a specific book by A.W. Tozer and he could browse the Bible section while I did that…. Continue reading →

27 For You, O Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, have revealed in the hearing of Your slave, saying, ‘I will build you a house’; therefore Your slave has found courage in his heart to pray this prayer to You. 2 Samuel 7:27 (LSB) 

There is a difference between how a genuine believer should pray and how most professing Christians actually pray. Our perception is that we pray as we feel or desire or as the result of viewing both our needs and other’s needs. What we often overlook is that God is heavily involved in all aspects of our sanctification and that includes leading us in prayer. God loves those who are His and blessing them is part of His expression of that love. Continue reading →

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16 translated from the NA28 Greek text)

The very first time I raised concerns about the Kansas City Prophets and the International House of Prayer over 25 years ago over their extra-biblical activities, I was rebuked by another professing Christian with this statement, “You just don’t understand what is going on. If people’s lives are being changed then God is working so you should just shut up.”… Continue reading →

18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared. From this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they were of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be manifested that they all are not of us. 1 John 2:18-24 (LSB) Read verses 20-24 on the site.

The doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church says that it is the only true church while all others are false. At the same time most solid evangelical Christians I know hold to the truth that the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, is an “antichrist.”… Continue reading →

23 Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. Genesis 40:23 (1599 Geneva Bible) 

My natural tendency is to heartily participate in self-pity, outrage, and unforgiveness thereby opening doors in my heart that Satan enters causing me to become discouraged. When this happens to me, I find that my circumstances drive me to become very negative and impatient. I suppose that this is one of my besetting sins which clings closely to me, ready to cut in on me causing me to drop out of the race God has set before me to run with endurance. (Hebrews 12:1-2)…. Continue reading →

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless. Ephesians 5:25-27 (LSB) 

Read Titus 3:4-7 on the site.

Many false teachers in the past and currently have taken the word “washing” in the two passages above and taught that this refers to baptism. However, a careful reading of the text reveals that baptism is never mentioned nor is the Greek word for baptism used by Paul in either passage, therefore, we know that he, inspired by the Holy Spirit, was writing about something else entirely. Continue reading →

“I tell people what they need to hear.  What God has told me to tell them.  They need to repent from their sin and start doing what’s right.  They have to straighten out.” 

(Wes Bredenhof – Abiding Grace) I was at a conference in Sydney when I met him.  He was hard to miss.  He was wearing a bright pink jacket and a red hat that said, “Make Australia Godly Again.”  I’m not sure why he singled me out.  Perhaps it was because I only knew a few people at this conference and I was standing there solo drinking my coffee during a break.

We got to talking and, since the conference was about religious freedom, I asked why he had an interest in this topic.  That’s when his face lit up.  He whipped out his smartphone and he showed me a picture of him standing in downtown Sydney with a giant sign…. Continue reading →

14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, having been sold into bondage under sin. 15 For what I am working out, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want, I agree with the Law, that it is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one working it out, but sin which dwells in me. Romans 7:14-25 (LSB) Read verses 18-25 on the site.

There is a great deal of false teaching going on in the visible Church in our time. One of those teachings has to do with the nature of salvation. Even though I grew up going to Church I was not a Christian until January 1986 and there are even times as I look at how I have matured and become dedicated more and more to my devotion to walk before my Lord according to His will at all times, I wonder if my true salvation took place back in 2004 instead…. Continue reading →

9 “I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His clothing was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with fire, Its wheels were a burning fire. 10 A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened. Daniel 7:9-10 (LSB) 

Before we look at Revelation 20:11-15, take a moment to reflect on the carnage being wrought upon the visible church in our time by the very men who, by their own positions, should be shepherding the sheep. Instead, they are actually doing the very things to bring about the famine of hearing the Word of God and, hence, spiritual darkness seems to be all around us right in the midst of the “Church.”… Continue reading →

25 Now many crowds were going along with Him, and He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Lest, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Luke 14:25-35 (LSB) Read verses 31-35 on the site.

When I was in High School a movie came out that was pretty popular and I have seen several times. It is supposedly based on the last few years of the life of Thomas More. The movie was “A Man for All Seasons.”… Continue reading →

35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to the ungrateful and evil. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:35-36 (LSB)

A couple days ago I watched the memorial service for Charlie Kirk. One of the most moving parts of it for me was when Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow, spoke. She spoke how the man who was accused of murdering Charlie was exactly like those who Charlie had dedicated himself to rescue from the evil trap the world system had captured them into. She also tearfully said that she was using Jesus’ example on the cross of forgiving his executioners in forgiving Charlie’s murderer. I had to ask myself if I could do that. Look at our Lord’s command in the passage I posted above (Luke 6:35-36)…. Continue reading →

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. 18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. James 1:16-18 (LSB) 

The test of true faith is that which is revealed in how one lives and walks through this life. Right belief, that is, a faith that lives in a regenerate heart born from above, is exhibited in right living as James, the brother of our Lord Jesus Christ wrote in the passage above. Notice also that he began that passage in v16 with, “Do not be deceived,” or Μὴ πλανᾶσθε from the Greek…. Continue reading →

19 After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. John 14:19 (LSB) 

When our Lord spoke of the “world” in John 14:19, he was talking about those in this temporal existence who are not believers. They are not true Christians even though some in that group may profess to be so. In this context he was also referring to the Jewish religious leaders of his own day who so opposed him and his ministry and who would continue to oppose the early church as is seen all through the books of Acts for example…. Continue reading →

I. REGENERATION

“There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

“The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

“Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Continue reading →

4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; 5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Revelation 18:4-5 (LSB) 

The world system, for the most part, is extremely tolerant of religion as long as it is not evangelical Christianity. However, it has no problem with that version of Christianity that is politically correct. Many countries in this world have imposed anti-hatred and anti-conversion laws specifically directed against Christianity…. Continue reading →