Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Repent Of Sins: Gospel Of Pharisees

Acts 16:30-31, “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

Kindly said, you cannot show me one verse from the inspired King James Bible that teaches to repent “of your sins, turn from your sins, be willing to turn from your sins, forsake a sinful lifestyle, or turn from your past sinful ways to be saved. Yet, this is the shameful Satanic garbage we are hearing preached from nearly every pulpit, website, radio station and television channel today.

I love the following sermon by Pastor Adam Fannin in defense of a true free grace Gospel...

Repent Of Sins: Gospel Of Pharisees

Even more tragic is that 99% of churchgoers today are Bible ignoramuses. They merely unquestioningly go along with whatever their stupid pastor teaches them, damning their souls to Hell forever with a false hope. Dear reader, I am the best friend you have right now, because I am telling you the truth.

Beware of Pensacola Christian College (PCC) and their damnable counterfeit gospel. Beware of Bob Jones University (BJU) and their damnable counterfeit gospel. I have seen them literally laugh in my face over my preaching, esteeming my website ministry a joke. We'll see what God has to say about all this in eternity on Judgment Day. The King James Bible crowd is going to come out on top. The free grace Gospel crowd is going to come out on top.

Those infidels who promote the Devil's corruptible seed (such as BJU) have much blood on their hands and will rue the day when they are judged by God almighty. Those who preach another gospel (such as PCC) have much blood on their hands and will rue the day when they are judged by God almighty. I am virtually the only one who is standing for the truth. Show me the preachers today that are exposing PCC and BJU like I am. Good luck finding them!

My ministry friend, Lou Martuneac, from Chicago (my home town) is the only one I know of (besides myself) who is preaching against BJU today. Lou is an alumnus of BJU and understands how apostate the college has become. Dr. Steve Pettit (BJU president from 2014 to 2023) is a devil in the pulpit, who preaches hardcore Calvinist Lordship Salvation.
Matthew 3:1-2, “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” ...
This word (Repent) is the Greek word metanoeo. Metanoeo is taken from two Greek words: (meta - meaning, “after”) and (noeo - meaning, “mind”). The word literally means, “after thought” (II Cor. 7:8-10). True repentance means, “to change your mind about what you believe and agree with what God says, and then confess it” (I Jn. 1:9a). God tells us that there are two areas in which we must repent, if we are to be saved. We must change our minds as to:
  1. Who we are (Lk. 5:31-32 & 13:1-5 and Mt. 27:3) — God tells us that we are sinfully sick and in need of the Savior and that we cannot save ourselves (Rom. 3:10, 23).
  2. Who CHRIST is (Mt. 4:13-14 & 11:20-24, Mk. 1:15, Acts 3:12-19 and Acts 2:38a) —Christ is God (Jn. 8:24, 58-59, not a god. Christ is the only Savior (Acts 4:10-12).

SOURCE: Pastor Brad Strand, 'The Strand Study Bible' 

Bravo Pastor Strand! I would like to clarify that to “confess it” does not mean with your mouth; but rather, to simply admit to God you are a guilty sinner (Romans 3:19-20). I am against the strange New IFB (New Independent Fundamental Baptist) doctrine today which mandates praying to be saved. The Bible plainly teaches that trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior—believing that He is the only begotten Son of God who died on a cross to pay for your sins and raised from the dead—is enough to be saved (without calling, asking or praying for it). John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

My regular blog readers know that I write about repentance often, but the reason I do is simply because it is such an important topic. Very few preachers get repentance correct these days, so I need to pick up the slack to warn everyone. Wrong repentance means a wrong Gospel and no new birth. Dr. Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) was right, who said that repentance is like buttoning a dress shirt—if you get the first button wrong, then all of the other buttons will be wrong too. Pastor Hutson is so right!

Dear friend, I heard a foolish religious man, Professor Kevin Bauder from Central Baptist Theological Seminary, falsely claim that Lordship Salvation falls within the realm of orthodox theology. No Sir, it does not, not even close. You either have to forsake a lifestyle of sinning to be saved, or you do not, but it simply cannot be both! For example: Take a look and compare the following two plans of salvation...
If you took the time to examine and compare the different plans of salvation, then you saw that what Stephen Davey, Hillsong and PCC are preaching today is VERY different than the simple free grace Gospel that David Rutkin and Curtis Hutson are preaching.

These are two completely different plans of salvation!!! One plan requires simple childlike faith in Jesus Christ and what He did through Calvary's cross to pay your debt of sin; but the other demands that in addition you turn from your sinful bad habits, abandon self to submit to obey God's will for your life, and follow Jesus as “Lord” from now on. The latter plan is based upon partial faith in Christ plus works, not God's grace alone.

Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty!

Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.

Turning away from sinful ways would be a work. Faith puts all of the merit where it belongs, on the object of our faith, Jesus and His work.

If to “repent” means to forsake our sinful ways TO BE SAVED, but Jesus already paid for our sins by dying on the cross, then what are we repenting from?

The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.

Sunday, November 26, 2023

You Can Be A Missionary From Home At Your Computer

Colossians 4:1-6 “Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven. Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”

Please note in the preceding text Scripture passage verse one. The Bible mentions treating people fairly before mentioning prayer and soulwinning. If we are less than honest, fair and proper toward others, then we cannot reasonably except them to be willing to listen to what we have to say about the things of God. Many wicked infidels have taken the time to listen to a Christian share the Gospel with them, for no other reason than they were treated fairly. Put another way, people don't care what you know until they know that you care.

When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful. I can tell you, it is a frustrating thing to do soulwinning in many parts of North America. Lots of people are proud, arrogant, stiff-necked and puffed-up against the Holy Bible because of atheism, and the blatant fraudulent teachings of Devilution (Evolution), and the prevalent lusts of the flesh in modern-day America. The LGBTQ+ and libtard crap have really destroyed the minds of many. Someone who thinks that some boys were really meant to be girls is mentally ill. It is my humble opinion that most mental illness is caused by not being right with God. My ministry friend Pastor Max Younce (1935-2023) addresses this important issue in his sermon series titled: Human Wisdom Versus Divine Wisdom, Part Two.

But it is refreshing to see that humble people from other countries are willing to learn, listen and get saved (sometimes even right away). Soulwinners have hit the right spot with South America, Asia and Africa! Many people in those countries are docile and eager to learn the truth of God's Word. Nowadays we can literally become missionaries from home at the computer, with Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube and other social media websites (the technology replaces the actual labour of missionaries, which is greatly lacking, so it compensates for the lack of Gospel preaching in the world). Amazing stuff!!!

The Faithful Word Baptist Church (FWBC) in Tempe, Arizona published the Gospel in 58 different languages. I gladly received a message on Facebook this week, from a new friend in South America who told me that he got saved from hearing the Gospel in his own language, from this FWBC project. Praise the Lord!

Dear reader, you can do something for God. Google provides FREE blogs at Blogspot.com for those who desire to write. If you already have Gmail, just go up to the right corner and click on the square with the 9 dots. Scroll down, click on more if you don't see it, and you'll see Blogger. That's all you need to get started. There are no limits, no advertisements and you can make as many blogs as you want, all totally for free. FREE is good! I have 8 blogs so far, Thank you Google! I am sad that Google has censored my ministry websites, but I appreciate that they let people make free blogs. So there is good and bad alike. Your blogs are automatically put into Googles search engine.

Another ministry is commenting on YouTube. People read comments! You could contend for the faith and help people find the truth about various doctrinal matters, especially salvation. 

You could also start a free Facebook page and help promote my ministry, or the ministry of other Christians who are doctrinally sound. YouTube is also free (acquired and owned by Google since 2006). There are laymen Christians (men and women alike) who have tens of thousands of followers on YouTube, whereas the typical church pastor only has about 75 members. Social media is an open door today for evangelism!!! Please consider doing your part friend to be a soulwinner. Proverb 11:30, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.”

Every child of God should have a ministry of some sort for Jesus Christ. There are people in this world whom I could never reach, buy you can because they live within your scope of life. There are friends, neighbors and loved ones that you have, who will listen to you speak of Christ, but they would never hear me out. We all have unique opportunities to share the Gospel of free grace with lost sinners.

What is in your hand dear friend, that you can use to serve God? One of my favorite sermons, and one of the very first that I ever heard Dr. Hyles preach, is titled: 'WHAT IS IN THY HAND?' I absolutely love the truth preached in that sermon! God asked Moses what was in his hand. Exodus 4:2, “And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand?  And he said, A rod.” God used that rod to perform the 10 plagues upon Egypt. God used that rod in Moses' hand to part the Red Sea, to deliver the Hebrew children from out of their bondage for the past 400 years. God used that rod to bring forth water from the rock to quench the thirst of the Hebrews, et cetera. God used all that Moses possessed, how little it was. Dear reader, God doesn't need your talent, wisdom, wit, knowledge or possessions to be used of Him, He just wants your heart. Proverb 23:26, My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.

God is willing to use a crooked stick, if that stick is yielded to Him. Samson was a crooked stick. Solomon was a crooked stick. David was a crooked stick. Peter was a crooked stick. Demas was a crooked stick. And for that matter, we are ALL crooked sticks in the mud. We are all guilty sinners deserving of eternal damnation in Hell. But thanks be to God for His mercy that sent Jesus to the cross to be crucified to pay our debt of sin. Amen and amen!

Pray for God to show you what you can do to serve Him. If you know how you were saved, then you should be able to take a Holy Bible show someone else how to be saved. You are more than welcome to copy and paste anything and everything from my website ministries and blogs. God knows my labors. I just want the truth to get out to help others for Christ. Thank you for reading my blog. To God alone be ALL the praise, credit and glory. Jesus is precious!!!

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Catholics Are Not Christians

Mark 7:9-13, “And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.”

Most people are foolish, ignorant and naïve concerning the cult of Roman Catholicism. In fact, Catholicism is a prisonhouse of religion, not true Christianity, which I will prove to you.

The Catholic.com Website Gets The Gospel Wrong

Here is one of thousands of websites on social media that errantly think Catholics are Christians. ...
Are Catholics Christians?

by Charles E. Pope

Catholics are Christians. In fact, we are the very first Christians. And we who call ourselves Catholic are no less Christian than Lutherans who call themselves Lutherans, or Methodists who call themselves Methodist, etc. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: https://www.simplycatholic.com/are-catholics-christians/ 

Catholics are NOT Christians! By “Christian” I mean born-again. Jesus warned in John 3:3, “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.” Dear reader, if there has never been a time and place in your life when you came to God as a guilty sinner, and by faith received Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins, trusting the Bible record that Jesus was buried but then resurrected from the dead after three days, you need to get saved before it is too late. Being religious won't get you into Heaven. Most people have churchianity without Christianity, because they've never been born again. Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born again.

In the Catholic religion some errantly teach that you must keep Seven Sacraments to get to Heaven. Some of these sacraments include water baptism, Holy Eucharist (communion), confession, et cetera. Interestingly, if you read different Catholic ministry websites you will find varying methods of how to get to Heaven. Oh boy! Let's examine a couple shall we.

Catholic Answers magazine says this is how you can go to Heaven...
The two sentences are these: To come to God and be saved, you need to repent, have faith, and be baptized. If you commit mortal sin, you need to repent, have faith, and go to confession.

That’s it. That’s all there is to it. And we can show each of these things from the Bible.

SOURCE: https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/how-to-go-to-heaven
What you just read is another gospel which doesn't match the Bible's plan of salvation. Catholic.com is wrong to make repentance a separate step from faith to be saved. Biblically, repentance (Greek verb: metanoeo) is simply a change of mind unto the Gospel itself. That is, a man who believes the Gospel has repented. That is, he has changed his mind. Anybody who tells you that more than faith is required to get to Heaven is a liar! Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do.

'The Dark Knight' Catholic Website Gets The Gospel Wrong

Here is another Catholic ministry website at The Dark Knight. They errantly teach that you must keep the Seven Sacraments to get to Heaven...
Thus, if we want to get to Heaven and knowing that only the holy are allowed into Heaven, and then knowing that the Sacraments make us holy, then it is by the Sacraments that this is accomplished. Namely, our salvation and sanctification.

The Sacraments make us Holy! That is why they are important!

SOURCE: https://www.knightsrepublic.com/single-post/2020/04/08/Are-the-Sacraments-Necessary-for-Salvation 

Dear friend, what you just read is self-righteousness reformation, not God's free grace. They are trying to make sinners holy through manmade tradition, in this case “sacraments.” The Dark Knight website are very wrong, you don't get made holy and sanctified by keeping some stupid religious sacraments. What saith the Scripture? John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. It is the inspired Word of God that sanctifies the believer. But you need to get saved first. How do you get saved according to the Bible? ... 
Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

So, here we learn that “the gospel” is the power of God which saves, if someone simply believes it. That raises the next question of, what is “the gospel”? ...

1st Corinthians 15:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, 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. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
The Bible plainly teaches us how to get to Heaven—by putting our trust in the Gospel, which is the “Good News that Jesus died on a cross to pay for our sins, was buried and three days later He bodily resurrected from the dead. This is the GOOD NEWS!!! Believe it, Oh guilty sinner, and you are saved!

Now, how does what Catholic.com and KinghtsRepublic.com compare with what we just read from the inspired King James Bible? Nowhere does the Bible teach to repent of your sins to be saved. Nowhere does the Bible teach to keep sacraments to be saved. In fact, the word “sacraments is not even found in the Bible. Nowhere does the Bible teach to be water baptized to be saved.

Catholic.com Perverts 1st Peter 3:21 To Teach Baptismal Regeneration

On the Catholic.com webpage that I linked to earlier, they cite the following Scripture passage from 1st Peter 3:21 as a proof text that you must be water baptized to get to Heaven. This popular false doctrine is called Baptismal Regeneration. ...
1st Peter 3:20-22, “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.”
But please take careful notice of the words following “whereunto even baptism doth also now save us—it reads, (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,). Water baptism cannot cleanse us from our sins, only the precious blood of Jesus can do that! Revelation 1:5-6, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

My ministry friend Pastor Max Younce (1935-2023) graduated to Heaven on August 11, 2023. I appreciate and miss him. Dr. Younce was a true scholar. I often referred to him as the Dr. John R. Rice of our generation.” Evangelist John R. Rice (1895-1980) founded the Sword Of The Lord in 1934 and was a brilliant Bible scholar, having authored hundreds of books and helpful resources for people who wanted to learn the Holy Bible.

Dr. Younce wrote the following helpful information to explain 1st Peter 3:21...
1 Peter 3:20,21 "...When once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by (through) water. (20) The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh [i.e. our sins], but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." (21) 
Several years ago, my wife and I were listening to the car radio, having just tuned into a religious broadcast. After a few minutes, the minister quoted one sentence from Verse 21, that being "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save 31 us"—period! He did not finish the verse; but, went on to explain, at great length, the necessity of baptism for salvation. 
Again, I cannot emphasize strongly enough the importance of reading all of a verse, including the surrounding text, to receive the correct interpretation and meaning. In 2 Timothy 2:15 we are instructed to "rightly" divide the Word of Truth;" NOT "rightly chop up the Word of Truth!" 
Since Verse 21 begins with "the like figure," it is referring to that which is set forth in Verse 20. It should be noticed that in Verse 20, the "eight souls that were saved by water" should be translated "saved through water"; NOT, "by water." The eight were saved from the flood waters by being in the ark—a type of Christ. They were not saved by the water for it was that which destroyed! Therefore, "the like figure" is figurative of the ark of Christ which provided absolute safety from the flood waters of death. The flood waters testify of death; and the ark, of resurrection. Notice Genesis 8:4, 
"And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat." 
It is not by chance that the ark (A type of Christ) rested on the mountain on the 7th month, on the 17th day. Centuries later, God changed the calendar. Noah's calendar was in effect until the emancipation of Israel from Egypt; and, God then instituted their religious calendar. The first month of Israel's religious calendar was the same as the 7th month of Noah's secular calendar, or our April. The Jewish Passover, representing Christ's death, was on the 14th day (Leviticus 23:4,5); therefore, Christ was resurrected three days later on the 17th, the same day the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat, showing resurrection. 
Conclusion: Baptism does not save us; but, identifies us publicly, showing our faith is in the death, and Resurrection of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus. 
Returning to 1 Peter 3:21 where the phrase "baptism doth also now save us" is explained within the verse, itself. Here we have the "negative" and the "positive." The "negative" tells us what baptism does not save us from. Here is the record...
"...not the putting away of the filth of the flesh,... (i.e. our sins)." 
Now the "positive" telling us what baptism does save us from, that being a GUILTY CONSCIENCE before God. Again, the record... 
"...but the answer of a good conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." 
How simple the Scriptures are when we are willing to accept God's Word as our Authority. A child of God is saved by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8,9); but, will be void of a good, clear conscience; until they are willing to be identified with Christ by their public baptism. 
"Go ye therefore, and teach (i.e. make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (19) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." - Matthew 28:19,20
SOURCE: Pastor Max D. Younce, 'A Biblical Examination Of Baptism'
I want to repeat something that Dr. Younce said, because it is so very important when studying the Word of God. ...
Again, I cannot emphasize strongly enough the importance of reading all of a verse, including the surrounding text, to receive the correct interpretation and meaning. In 2 Timothy 2:15 we are instructed to "rightly" divide the Word of Truth;" NOT "rightly chop up the Word of Truth!"
The false teachers at Catholic.com are guilty of violating the principle that Pastor Younce just taught. They “chop up” the Word of Truth by only quoting the first portion of 1st Peter 3:21, totally ignoring the last part of the verse.

Here is an exact quote from the heretical Catholic.com website...
And the need for baptism is shown when St. Peter flatly tells us: “Baptism now saves you” (1 Peter 3:21).

So that’s what you need to do if you want to come to God and be saved: Repent, have faith, and be baptized.
 
SOURCE: https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/how-to-go-to-heaven
Do you see how dishonest they are? They are merely cherry-picking the Bible, lifting text out of context to create a new pretext. By manipulating the Bible the way that Catholic.com does, you could literally teach ANYTHING! 1st Peter 3:21 says that water baptism does not put away the filth of our flesh. That is, water baptism cannot wash away our sins, only the precious blood of Jesus can do that! 1st John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. Getting water baptized is the first step of obedience for a new believer. If we want to have a good conscience toward God, then we need to get baptized right away (which is the public profession of our Christian faith).

Roman Catholicism butchers the Holy Bible:
  1. Whereas the Bible commands us not to call men “Father” or “Rabbi,” that is exactly what Catholics wickedly do! Matthew 23:9, “And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
  2. 1st Timothy 4:1-3 warns that false prophets will come, “Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats...” That is exactly what Catholics do, flagrantly violating God's Word!
  3. There is nothing in the Bible about The Assumption of Mary.
  4. There is nothing in the Bible about The Immaculate Conception of Mary.
  5. There is nothing in the Bible about The Perpetual Virginity of Mary.
  6. There is nothing in the Bible about about praying The Rosary to Mary.
  7. There is nothing in the Bible about confessing your sins to a priest.
  8. There is nothing in the Bible about sacraments.
  9. There is nothing in the Bible about eating Jesus' body and drinking His blood.
  10. There is nothing in the Bible about priests having power to forgive men's sins.
  11. There is nothing in the Bible about clergy forbidden to get married.
  12. There is nothing in the Bible about idolizing the Pope.
  13. There is nothing in the Bible about Mortal versus Venial Sins.
  14. There is nothing in the Bible about Purgatory.
  15. There is nothing in the Bible about Holy Water.
I could literally list hundreds of manmade Catholic traditions that are not found in the Bible.

Sadly and tragically, there are over one billion Catholics in the world. Roman Catholicism is the biggest religious cult on planet earth! The Russian Orthodox Catholicism comes in second as the largest cult. Catholicism is a prisonhouse of religion!!!

Do you know what Catholicism really is friend? It is a religion for unregenerate men! That is, it is the religion of choice for unsaved religious people, for those who want an elaborate religious package from the cradle to the casket! But be forewarned dear reader—religion is a sure road to Hell. Religion never saved anybody! Salvation is not found in any religion; but rather, in the person and redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ! John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

I could say much more, but you get the point. You now know everything you need to be saved dear friend. It saddens me that billions of people have been given false hope by the Vatican, falsely told that they can find salvation through the sacraments of the Catholic Church. As I should you earlier from The Dark Knight website, they teach that holiness gets you to Heaven. But what does the Bible says? Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Your best effort to achieve holiness is filth to God! The reason why is because you cannot compensate for the sins you've already committed by cleaning up your act. This is why we are told in James 2:10, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” Even committing just one sin is enough to prevent someone from entering into Heaven (1st Corinthians 6:9-11). That is why we all need a Savior!

Until Catholics repent of their DEAD WORKS (Hebrews 6:1), and instead BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST (Acts 16:30-31), they cannot be saved.

Monday, November 20, 2023

No One “Believes” With Their Mind But Not Their Heart

Acts 8:35-38, “Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.”

Kindly, I am careful not to distinguish between the words "faith," "believe" and "mental assent," because they are the same thing.

There is a religious tract that I absolutely hate. It is titled, "Missing Heaven By 18 Inches" (the distance between the brain and the heart muscle). The very idea makes no sense, because our heart muscle has nothing to do with the new birth. There is no such thing as believing with the mind but not the heart. The heart is in the brain!

Having said that, it is possible to know the facts of the Gospel, but not believe (personally trust) the facts of the Gospel. But knowing some facts is not the same as "mental assent." The word "assent" means to agree. If someone agrees with the facts of the Gospel, they are saved. We need to be very careful in our choice of words in this matter of discerning between head knowledge and heart's faith.

We read in Hebrews 4:2 that Moses preached the Gospel unto the Jews wandering in the Wilderness for 40 years, but it was not mixed with faith in them that heard it, and they sadly perished and went to Hell. Those Jews were very familiar with the facts of the Gospel, since they heard it year after year from Moses. But they did not mentally assent (agree) with the Gospel, or else they would have been saved.

So, I discourage believers from trying to discern between believing with the mind versus the heart, because that is impossible. "Believing" is the wrong word to use to describe an unbeliever who is merely familiar with the facts of the Gospel. In fact, they DO NOT "believe" in their mind. To believe in one's mind is to believe in one's heart, there is no difference.

Sunday, November 19, 2023

Jesus Is Our Sabbath Today, There Is No Sabbath Day Anymore

𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝟮:𝟭𝟰-𝟭𝟳, “𝗕𝗹𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆, 𝗻𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀; 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗹𝘆, 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘁. 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘁, 𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸, 𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝘆𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗻, 𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀: 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲; 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁.” The Sabbath Day (a ceremonial law) was nailed to the cross.

We read in Hebrews 4:10-11 that just as God ceased from His work of creation and rested on the 7th day, so also must we cease from our works and REST wholly in Jesus Christ for eternal life. Jesus is our Sabbath today, there is no Sabbath Day to observe. As we just plainly read, the Sabbath was a shadow of good things to come. 𝗛𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝟭𝟬:𝟭, “𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘄 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁.”

Friday, November 17, 2023

There Are Not Two Gospels

Galatians 1:6-8, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

Dear reader, you either have to forsake your sinful bad habits to get to Heaven, or you do not, but it cannot be both. Sadly, 90% of what we hear being taught in churches today is NOT the same plan of salvation which the inspired King James Bible teaches.

Here is the Bible way to Heaven...
1st Corinthians 15:1-6, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, 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. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.”
Anyone who comes to God as a guilty sinner, by faith receiving His sacrifice on the cross as full payment for your sins, believing that He was buried, but then three days later Jesus bodily resurrected from the dead, is saved. It is that simple.

Your Faith + Good News (Gospel) = New Birth

The “gospel is comprised of three things:
  1. Jesus DIED on a cross for our sins.
  2. He was BURIED.
  3. Three days later Jesus RESURRECTED from the dead.
1st Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” Please don't delay friend if you've never been born again. A true “Christian is a sinner who has put trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ, including His death on the cross as payment for sins, burial and His physical resurrection on the third day.

Having said that, I am appalled at the embellishments I hear from preachers today, which have nothing to do with getting saved. Such unbiblical embellishments include:
  1. walk an aisle
  2. pray a prayer
  3. join a church, denomination or convention
  4. turn from your sins
  5. repent of your sins
  6. be willing to turn away from sin
  7. feel sorrow for your sins
  8. forsake a lifestyle of sinning
  9. be baptized in water
  10. speak in “tongues”
  11. turn over a new leaf
  12. ask Christ into your heart
  13. invite Jesus into your life
  14. surrender your entire personality to Christ
  15. surrender all
  16. live a holy life
  17. live a changed life
  18. give control of your life over to Christ
  19. faithfully run the race
  20. count the cost and pay the price
  21. live a lifestyle of repentance from sins
  22. turn away from the old life
  23. follow Jesus no matter what the cost
  24. make Jesus the “Lord” (Master) of your life
  25. be sorrow for your sin
  26. confess Christ publicly
  27. keep the Sabbath Day
  28. keep God's Ten Commandments
  29. get rid of bad habits and vices
  30. ask Jesus into your heart
  31. have a religious experience
  32. feel hatred for sin
  33. commit your life to Christ
  34. become a Christ follower
  35. live to obey God's commandments
NONE of these things are required to get to Heaven. Yet, I can hardly listen to a sermon, or visit a church website, or watch a YouTube video, or hear a Bible college chapel service, or read a religious tract, or listen to religious radio, without seeing and hearing these unbiblical additions to God's simple plan of salvation, which are damnable heresy! True Bible salvation is by faith alone in the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen the third day (1st Corinthians 15:1-6). That's it, that's all, no more!

It's as simple as this friend—you are a dirty, guilty, sinner, and so am I (Romans 3:10-23). The penalty for our sins is to spend eternity burning in the fires of Hell (Revelation 21:8). You might think that is too harsh of a punishment, but if you understand that we have sinned against a sinless and holy God, then you can begin to grasp why we deserve eternal damnation. God loves humanity so much that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die on a cross to pay our debt of sin (John 3:16). All God asks is that you believe Jesus did it all for you!

Simply acknowledge that you are a guilty sinner (Romans 3:19-20). By childlike faith, receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins, believing that He died, was buried, but then resurrected bodily three days later from the dead. This is the 'GOOD NEWS' by which all who BELIEVE IT are saved instantly, irrevocably and eternally. ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED!!! Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” The Gospel is the “power” that saves, if you'll just BELIEVE IT!!! That is, if you will make it your only hope for eternal life.

God is not asking YOU to give up anything to be saved. The Lord wants to freely give you something. Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty! Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. Turning away from sinful ways would be a work. Faith puts all of the merit where it belongs, on the object of our faith, Jesus and His work. If to “repent” means to forsake our sinful ways TO BE SAVED, but Jesus already paid for our sins by dying on the cross, then what are we repenting from?

The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.

There is only ONE Gospel, which we looked at in 1st Corinthians 15:1-3.

The garbage being taught at Pensacola Christian College today is another gospel, not free grace.

The garbage being preached on 'UNSHACKLED' radio by Pacific Garden Mission is another gospel, not free grace.

The source of all this tommyrot today is the Devil's new Bible revisions. 
KING JAMES BIBLE (KJB) - Hebrews 6:1, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,” 
THE VOICE (VOICE) - Hebrews 6:1, “So let’s push on toward a more perfect understanding and move beyond just the basic teachings of the Anointed One. There’s no reason to rehash the fundamentals: repenting from what you loved in your old dead lives, believing in God as our Creator and Redeemer,”

NEW LIFE VERSION (NLV) - Hebrews 6:1, “So let us leave the first things you need to know about Christ. Let us go on to the teaching that full-grown Christians should understand. We do not need to teach these first truths again. You already know that you must be sorry for your sins and turn from them. You know that you must have faith in God.”

NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV) - Hebrews 6:1, “Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,”
EASY-TO-READ VERSION (ERV) - Hebrews 6:1, “So we should be finished with the beginning lessons about Christ. We should not have to keep going back to where we started. We began our new life by turning away from the evil we did in the past and by believing in God.”
Do you see how Satan has horribly corrupted the Word of God? All of the four perversions of the Bible which I have just shown you, change the words “repentance from dead works” in the trustworthy King James Bible, to say instead that you have to give up your sinful bad habits to get to Heaven. Clearly, these are two very different meanings. The inspired King James Bible says to repent of your DEAD WORKS. That is, to be saved you need to change your mind from what you think you must do to be saved, to what God says you must do to get to Heaven.

Christian author Michael Patrick Bowen states in his excellent book titled, “I NEVER KNEW YOU,” on page 114...
“Repent, as Christ meant it to be in terms of salvation, means to change your mind from trusting in what you can do for God to trusting only in what He can do for you.”

SOURCE: Michael Patrick Bowen, a quote from the awesome book, “I NEVER KNEW YOU” (Page 114)
The beloved Pastor Bob Gray Sr. of the Longview Baptist Temple church in Texas correctly preaches. ...
“Repentance means to change your mind—change your mind—change your mind about how you want to get to Heaven to what God says you've got to do to get to Heaven. If you've got to repent of all your sins, you're still headed for Hell tonight.”

SOURCE: Pastor Bob Gray Sr., a quote from the awesome MP3 sermon, 'Why You Should Be A Part Of A Growing Church'
Dr. Mark G. Cambron Has Repentance 100% Correct

Here is an excellent and needful writing by Dr. Mark G. Cambron (1911-2000) on the subject of REPENTANCE. Please read the following quote carefully, because Dr. Cambron is one of few theologian who gets it, that is, he understands the simplicity of the Gospel and that repentance does not mean turning from sin as proponents of Lordship Salvation foolishly teach...
Repentance is necessary for salvation.

The Greek word for repent is metanoeo, which, translated into English is: to change ones mind. It does not mean to turn from sin. That would add works to salvation.

Repentance for salvation means a change of mind from men's ideas of salvation and religion, to an acceptance of Gods only way of salvation.

This results in a completely new creation, not a reformation of the old. The old nature remains as evil as ever after salvation and has not been reformed . . . The old nature can now be controlled by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

God guarantees salvation. This is His gift to us.
God guarantees reward and fruit to the obedient son.
God guarantees chastening and loss of rewards to the disobedient son.

God does not cast out disobedient children, but in some cases, does take them home. He does not permit His children to live as they please without His discipline and guidance.

Many teach repentance for salvation incorrectly, by including some form of human effort or righteousness, such as willingness to turn from sin, or turning from sin. This is heresy and has confused many people. It adds works to salvation and causes many to not understand Gods great gift. It is probation, not salvation. It is completely unscriptural. It is Galatianism and a counterfeit of the gospel.

It is a tragedy that many Christians live shallow Christian lives. The Cambron Institute is dedicated to the task of training Christian men and women in the importance of total dedication and making Jesus the Lord of their lives not to be saved but because they are saved.

Shallow Christianity cannot be cured by adding works to salvation.

Salvation is not the result of what we do, but is by receiving what God has done for us. Acts 13:38-39; Acts 20:20: Galatians 1:8-9; Galatians 2:4; Galatians 2:21; Galatians 3:1-3; Galatians 5:1-4; Ephesians 2:8-10; II Corinthians  5:21; John 3:16-18; Philippians 3:9; Titus 3:5-8:11 Corinthians 11:13-15.

SOURCE: The Cambron Institute
I thank God for doctrinally sound men like Dr. Mark G. Cambron. You'll have to look far and wide today to find such doctrinally sound preachers as Brother Cambron. Sadly, 90% of pastors today are theologically incompetent, unlearned and corrupt. Even worse, if you dare try to help them by telling them the truth, they are resentful and quick to show you the door, telling you to leave and don't come back.

I know because I've had it sadly happen to me numerous times. This happened to me at the ungodly Harvest Baptist Church on Guam. That devil Marty Herron (their senior pastor from 1999 to 2018) banned me from returning to Harvest Baptist Church. That sad little heretic is now vice president of Faith Baptist Bible College And Theological Seminary in Ankeny, Iowa. I wouldn't enroll my dog in that cesspool of iniquity! Marty Herron is a child of the Devil. Herron preaches the demonic lie of Lordship Salvation (as do nearly all Bob Jones University alumni today). RUN from the dangerous ungodly Bob Jones University cult!!! I am sickened how stupid people are today, following any idiot who becomes their Bible professor or pastor. Please think for yourself! Be as the Bereans who searched the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:10-11).

There are not two gospels dear reader. You either must forsake a lifestyle of sinning to get to Heaven, or you do not, but it cannot be both. Adding even the slightest bit of human effort to faith cancels faith. The only way to receive the new birth is to wholly lean on Jesus name, apart from all self-righteousness and works (Hebrews 4:10-11). Tragically, less than 1% of pastors today care about right doctrine. They are lazy and don't want to suffer reproach for the name of Christ. They don't want to be put outside the gate with Jesus. I am outside the gate. Jesus has always been outside the gate.

Outside The Gate With Jesus
(Pastor Jack Hyles, 1926-2001)

The rotten Bob Jones cult today insist that works are necessary to get to Heaven. They'll lie and say that works aren't necessary to be saved, but then say that without works your faith is invalid. The Bible calls BJU and their graduates liars and false prophets (Proverbs 30:5-6). They are accursed by God for corrupting the Gospel (Galatians 1:8). I will never be quiet. I won't shut up for God! Satan wants us to SHUT UP, but God wants us to SPEAK UP! Well, I'm speaking up. To God be the glory. Jesus is precious!!!

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

My Saviour Is Also My Friend!

Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001)
(Loyal Pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana for over 42 years)

Proverbs 18:24, "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." Jesus is my Saviour, but in this chapter I will not write of that. Jesus is my Redeemer, but at this moment I will not speak of that. Jesus is my King, but I will bypass that thought for a moment. Jesus is my Lord, but I will pass that truth for awhile. In this chapter I want to speak of my Saviour as my friend.

The heart of man is always craving friendship. Happy is the man who has a friend. Happier is the man who is a friend. Happiest is the man who has a friend and is a friend. However, it is a little difficult in the June and July days of life to tell the difference between an acquaintance and a friend. We have to wait for the chilling winds of December and January for true friendship to be tested. It is not easy to tell the difference when the sea is smooth and reflects Heaven's blue. You find out only when the sky is overcast and storms descend, for friendship to be proved must be tested by a tempest.

In these paragraphs I want to speak of my Friend, a true Friend. I want to tell you some things about His friendship, especially will I address those of you whose hearts are lonely, whose sky is dark, whose way is rocky and whose faith oft turns to doubt. I too am alone a lot and have found my Saviour to be a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

There are so many lonely souls all about us--a college student who shares his freshman dorm with strangers; a serviceman who seeks slumber in faraway army barracks; the shut-in whose world is a room, whose sky is a ceiling, whose sun is a 60-watt light bulb, whose horizon is a wall, and whose meadow is a floor; the patient who waits and doubts and waits and hopes and waits and despairs and waits and hopes; the senior citizen who is exiled to an island called a rest home; the bus kid who is ghetto-bound and wonders who and if his daddy is; and the widow trying to be a mother and a father to a nest of children. To you and to others, let me introduce you to my Friend. Joseph Scriven wrote:

"What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear; What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer!"

Dr. Charles Weigle wrote:
"I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus, Since I found in Him a friend so strong and true.

I would tell you how He changed my life completely, He did something that no other friend could do!"
Another wrote:
"There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus, no not one, no not one." Still another wrote, "I have found a friend, oh such a friend," and another penned, "Jesus is the friend you need, such a friend is He indeed!"
My Saviour is my friend when I am good; He is my friend when I am bad. He is my friend when I am up; He is my friend when I am down. He is my friend when I am happy; He is my friend when I am sad. He is my friend when I am prosperous; He is my friend when I am poor. He is my friend when I am successful; He is my friend when I fail. He is my friend when I am honored; He is my friend when I am slandered. He is my friend when I am cheerful; He is my friend when I am blue. He is my friend when I am obedient; He is my friend when I am rebellious. He is my friend when I believe; He is my friend when I doubt. He is my friend when I laugh; He is my friend when I weep. He is my friend when I am zealous; He is my friend when I am indifferent. Thank God, my Saviour is my friend!

My friend never deserts me. He never forsakes me. I am always on His mind. He never slumbers or sleeps. He encamps round about me. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness. He restoreth my soul. My friend never tires of me. He is always faithful, true, tender and strong.

My friend never forsakes me. When I attended a public school as a poor little boy with no shoes to wear and no nice clothes to cover my body, He was my friend while children laughed at me. He was my friend when my father left our home to leave Mother and me, never to return to our house. He was my friend when the loneliness of the army enclosed me. He was my friend when the people whom I loved like I loved my own life found no need for me any more. He was my friend when I had to take my stand for my convictions, and many of my preacher friends forsook me and fled. He is my friend when I am fellowshipping with my loneliness in a motel room. He is my friend when I am marooned on an airplane island. He is my friend when I am walking out of a pulpit where I have had to take an unpopular stand.

My friend is available. I have never known a day of sorrow when I did not find my friend by my side. Sometimes He is silent, but He is always there. Sometimes I can hear Him gently speak, and other times I feel the touch of His hand, but He is always my friend. When I stood beside the casket which contained the body of my father who had passed away just a few hours before, and who as far as I know never took time to receive Christ, I felt fingers gripping my arm. I turned to see who was there. There was nobody near, and yet I felt the fingers as if a real hand had taken my arm. I know—
it was the real hand of my friend! When the shadows have lengthened, when the day's work is over and when I have delivered my soul, I hear my friend often say, "Well done."

My friend is rich. He owns the entire earth, and all the world's keys hang on His girdle. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the wealth in every mine. Earth's jewels are simply those that overflowed His coffers. He uses His leftover gold as pavement for Heaven's streets. His smaller pearls are used for Glory's gates. There is never a beautiful sunset but what His hand has painted it. There is no music worth singing that He did not edit.

Every color is an expression of His beauty. The mountains are His handiwork. There is never a ray of sun that He did not requisition. There is never a bolt of lightning that He did not order. There is never a clap of thunder that He did not utter. All of earth's crowns could not hold His jewels, and all of earth's diadems could not house his diamonds.

My friend is the Lord of eternity and the Master of time. All of creation is His handiwork, and think—He is my friend!

My friend always loves me. He died for me while I was yet a sinner. All of my life was against His holy purpose; yet He loved me! He loves me in spite of my sin. He loves me in spite of my pollution, my failure, my depravity and my weakness. His love is not "because"; His love is "in spite of!" He loved me when I looked at Him and said, "No." He loved me when I drifted from Him as a teenager. He loved me when I kept His Book closed on the table of indifference. He loved me when my prayer closet was deserted and when I was ashamed to speak of Him. Why even now, He is my advocate against slanderers and critics, and He sits at the right hand of the Father pleading my case. He is my friend. He stands forever pleading my case while the Father of Lies lies to the Father of Truth!

My friend wrote me a love letter. He tells me in John 3:16 that He so loved me that He gave His only begotten Son, that if I believe in Him, I should not perish but have everlasting life. He tells me in Romans 5:8 that God commendeth His love toward me, and that while I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me. He tells me in Romans 8:28 that all things work together for good to those who love God and to those who are the called according to His purpose. He reminds me in Philippians 4:13 that I can do all things through Christ Which strengtheneth me. He tells me in John 14:1 that my heart should not be troubled but that I should believe God and believe also in Him." There He reminds me that in His Father's house are many mansions and that He has gone to prepare a place for me, and He will come again receiving me unto Himself that where He is, there I may be also. He reminds me in Psalm 91:1 that if I dwell in the secret place of the Most High, I can abide under the shadow of the Almighty. In 1st Corinthians 13, He reminds me that His love will never fail and even now He is preparing a place for me in the Glory world.

Think how beautiful that place must be. Look what He did in six days. He lifted the mountains like pyramids above the horizon and framed them with a cloud-laden sky that provides for me shade while I drive and carpet when I fly He shed the tear of deity and formed a little pond where I may see Heaven while looking toward earth. He assembles a choir of birds to practice through the night so they can present a concert for me as I go to work in the morning. He sows me a sample of Heaven's garden when He gives me the rose and takes some of the incense from the altar and sprays it on the gardenia. He takes me to a mountaintop and allows me to writhe my way, following the fickle mountain stream as it winds its way in a serpentine manner toward its destination to the ocean. He lets me see the pine tree as it stands at attention in its company of "needley" soldiers who salute me as I pass in review. He points out to me the redwoods of northern California who stand like Olympic weight lifters after hoisting their foliage. He shows me the loveliness of diamonds which really are nothing but synthetic stars and substitutes for the twinkling of the lake when the moon is full. He makes for me a sunset which blends its emerald green, azure blue and topaz tint as He brings the great light that rules the day close enough for me to examine.

All of this and much, much more He did in six days. Think how Heaven must be. Examine the rose, the daffodil, the pansy, the lilac and the chrysanthemum and realize that these are only six-day jobs. Think what Heaven's flowers must be like which have been in preparation for nearly 2,000 years. He shows me the willow, the oak, the pine, the birch and the maple as specimens of six days of work. Think what Heaven's trees must be like. He has been preparing them for me for almost 2,000 years. He allows me to wind my way beside the Danube, the Nile and the Tigress in an effort to tease me concerning what the River of Life must be like. He asks me to taste the sweetness of the peach, the feisty tartness of the plum, the yielding sweetness of the banana, and then gently says, "I made those in six days, Can you imagine how Heaven's fruit must taste? I have been working 2.000 years on that!"

My friend is gentle. His is not a weak gentleness, for true gentleness cannot be weak. His gentleness is strength held in check. His gentleness is like the mighty ocean taking a nap while great waters kiss the shore and while a little child plays in its quiet waters and is kissed by the crest of a wave.

Though my friend is gentle, He is also strong. His chisel sculptures mountain peaks. His pitcher pours the lakes. 'Tis through His brush the rainbow speaks. His fury spawns the quakes. His power sends the snowflakes like tiptoeing drops of rain. His breath sends forth the gentle breeze to resurrect the grain. He carved the gorges into view, while morning stars did cheer. He placed a seven-colored hew and made the bow appear. 'Tis God Whose mighty voice I hear and thunders overhead. Tornadoes are His footprints; spring winds His gentler tread.

The hurricane awaits His call. The earthquake is His loyal servant. Lightning lies at His feet awaiting orders. Tornadoes obey His commands. Yet, "He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own; and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known!"

My friend is generous. He gives me all I need and infinitely more. He shares with me all that He has. His wealth is my inheritance. He gives me the world that belongs to Him and the fulness thereof He supplies all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Through Him I own the music of the sea, the emerald green of the meadow, the peerless blue of the sky, the topaz tint of the rainbow and the nervous branches of windblown trees.

Mainly, though, my friend is exactly that—He is my friend! He leaves His heavens and enters a quiet motel room to speak with me. He reserves a seat beside me on a midnight flight. He understands me when no one else understands and hold my hand when all other hands are occupied.
"There's no friend to me like Jesus! He my every need supplies.

He not only saves but keeps me. Nothing good from me denies."

Oh, by the way-my friend wants to be your friend too!

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Why The English Of The King James Bible Is Better Than That Of All The Modern Versions

Dr. James Sightler and Wife
(1937-2019)

First, the KJB is precise in the use of the old pronouns in the second person, and that is necessary for a literal and accurate translation.

Modern translations can never match it.

Nominative Objective Possessive

Case Case Case

Present Day English

1st person s. I me my(mine)

1st person pl. we us our(ours)

2nd person s. you you your(yours)

2nd person pl. you you your(yours)

3rd person s. he, she him, her his, hers

3rd person pl. they them theirs

KJB English differs in 2nd person pronouns.

2nd person s. thou thee thy(thine)

2nd person pl. ye you your(yours)

Thee, thou, and thine when used in prayer and worship are Biblical and far more reverent. Thee, thou, and ye are precise in meaning. In John 3:7 we read: "Marvel not that I said unto theeye must be born again." When he said thee Jesus was speaking to one person, Nicodemus, but then by saying ye he meant that all of us, plural, must be saved. Today "you" may be both singular and plural, nominative or objective, and modern translations cannot make the meaning of John 3:7 unmistakably clear.

In the 10 commandments "Thou" is used, and so each individual personally falls under the commandment, not the aggregate of all persons. John 12:48 says that all shall stand before God and be judged individually: "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."

Second,
 the KJB is easier to memorize because of frequent poetic rhythms in its syntax or construction of sentences. We can illustrate these rhythms by underlining accented syllables.

Trochaic rhythm, accent on the first syllable of two.

Psalm 34:13 Keep thy / tongue from / e-vil, and thy / lips from / speak-ing / guile

NASV Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. Note that deceit has two syllables with the accent on the second and so ruins the rhythm when substituted for guile.

Psalm 100:1 Make a / joy-ful / noise un / to the / Lord / all ye lands. Serve the / Lord with / glad-ness: / come be / fore his / pres-ence / with sing / ing

NASV Shout joyfully to the Lord Come before him with joyful singing; the rhythm of both lines is ruined.

Hymns Breth-ren / we have / met to / wor-ship

And a / dore the / Lord our / God

Come thou / fount of / ev-ry / bless-ing

Tune my / heart to / sing thy / grace


Iambic rhythm, accent on the second syllable of two.

Genesis 2:7 And man / be-came / a liv / ing soul NASV has being, with two syllables, for soul.

Psalm 73:2 But as / for me / my feet / were al / most gone; / my steps / had well / nigh slipped

Psalm 136:9 the moon / and stars / to rule / by night

Isaiah 52:1 A-wake / a-wake / put on / thy strength

NASV Awake, awake, Clothe yourself in your strength; the rhythm is lost.

Matthew 6:10 Thy king / dom come / thy will / be done / on earth

John 3:17 For God / sent not / his son / in-to / the world / to-con demn / the world,/ but that / the world / through him / might be / sav-ed

NASV For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. The rhythm is lost in both lines.

Hymns A-maz / ing grace / how sweet / the sound /

That saved / a wretch / like me

How sweet / the name / of Je / sus sounds

In a / be-lieve / ers ear

Both these last hymns are common meter. That means 8 syllables in the 1st line and 6 in the 2nd, 8 in the 3rd, 6 in the 4th, and so on.

The late Dr. B. R. Lakin, great preacher and orator, used to tell of his mother sitting on the porch churning butter, singing these old songs. How could she do it? Because they were so easy to memorize, having regular iambic or trochaic structure and divided into stanzas just as the Bible is divided into verses.

Sonnets of John Milton and William Shakespeare are all iambic pentameter, with 10 syllables or 5 feet per line, and so are easily learned. Milton became blind early in life but wrote these beautiful lines: "When I consider how my light is spent, ere half my days in this dark world and wide," an archaic, but sublime, way of saying I have lost my sight. He also gave us "Avenge O Lord thy slaughtered saints, whose bones, Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold." From Shakespeare: "When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes I all alone beweep my outcast state." Is there a fundamental university ready to put Milton or Shakespeare into modern English? Never! Then why must they treat our Bible with both literary and theological disrespect?

Anapestic rhythm, accent on the third of three syllables.

Psalm 23:6 - I will dwell / in the house / of the Lord / for e-ver

Psalm 116:15 - Precious / in the sight / of the Lord / is the death / of his saints

NASV Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones; godly ones puts three syllables in place of one, saints.

Hymns Are you washed / in the blood / in the soul / cleans-ing blood / of the Lamb

Ho-ow firm / a foun da / tion ye saints / of the Lord

i-is laid / for your faith / in his ex / cell-ent word

Dactylic rhythm, accent on the first of three syllables.

Isaiah 14:12 - How art thou / fall-en from / hea-ven O / Lu-ci-fer / Son of the / morn-ing

Hymn Mo-ment by / mo-ment I'm / kept in his / love /
Mo-ment by / mo-ment I've / light from a / bove

Cretic rhythm, accent on the first and third of three syllables.

James 1:19 - swift to hear, / slow to speak, / slow to wrath

NASV quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; anger has two syllables as opposed to one in wrath. The alliteration of the s words, swift, slow, and slow is lost by substituting quick.

Hymn Sil-ent night / Ho-ly night / all is calm / all is bright

God made us to be creatures of rhythm and orderly structure, fearfully and wonderfully made. There is the rhythm of night and day, sleeping and waking. Our breath is regular at a rate of 16 breaths per minute. Our hearts beat about 70 times per minute. Even our brain waves show rhythmic patterns. So order and structure must be expected in our Bible.

Contemporary music has no meter or regular rhythm with a fixed number of syllables per line. It is poorly done, slothful poetry, through composed instead of strophic; that is, of one piece and not divided into stanzas. The words do not fit the music properly. You easily recognize it by counting syllables per line. And you can also see that there is a direct relation between the poor poetry of contemporary worship and the poor rhythms of the new versions of the Bible.

The stanzas of the old hymns of Isaac Watts serve the same purpose as verse divisions in the KJB. Modern versions are divided into paragraphs. Verse numbers are submerged in the paragraphs, not clearly shown at the left margin.

Anyone who has listened to children saying Bible verses in unison on a church bus or in Sunday school has noticed the rhythmic, singsong quality of their speech. I have heard it often in chapel programs done by elementary Christian school students. This rhythm is important for memorization both in children and in adults. Why do we need to memorize? To hide the word in our hearts for spiritual warfare.

In the wilderness in Matthew 4 the Lord defeated the devil three times by the use of quotations from Deuteronomy, telling the devil "it is written." Of course he had no trouble quoting these scriptures. We must be ready to do the same, but our small minds need a Bible that is easily memorized and recalled.

Third, the KJB is closer to the Greek text because it keeps the inflected verb endings that are seen in Greek. Inflection simply means a turning or bending. Hebrew and Greek are inflectional languages, much more so than modern English. Hebrew is more inflectional than Greek. Biblical English should also be as inflectional as possible if we are to have a literal translation and one that shows the most respect for Hebrew and Greek. Inflection makes a language more compact, with shorter sentences, and we see shorter sentences in the KJB.

Inflected verb endings, nominative case singular

English                                       Greek

I say                                           lego

Thou sayest                               legeis

He saith                                      legei

I loose                                         luo

Thou loosest                               lueis

He looseth                                   luei

I honor                                         timao

Thou honorest                             timaeis

He honoreth                                timaei

I give                                           didomi

Thou givest                               didos

He giveth                                    didosi

The s sound predominates in the ending of sayest, and the letter sigma or s is there in Greek; the i sound is heard in saith and giveth and iota or i is at the end in Greek. The KJB keeps the inflective similarity between Greek and English verb endings. Inflection makes the pronoun and the verb conform to and fit with each other. Inflected verb endings make a great contribution to the rhythm and beauty of the KJB. Remember John 21:3: Si-mon / Pe-ter sa-ith / un-to / them. It is trochaic. John 21:5 is iambic: Then Je / sus sa / ith un / to them. Without the inflected verb ending that gives us saith in place of said, and without the Biblical word unto, that rhythm and beauty are lost.

Hearing is by far the most important means of acquiring language and speech. Infants are more sensitive to trochaic rhythm and use rhythm in the speech that they hear to learn to speak themselves. Rhythm in the speech of the mother and father helps an infant acquire syntax, from hearing that rhythm. Syntax is the combination of syllables and words into sentences to express thought.

In 30 years of pediatric practice I have never seen a 4 year old say the alphabet, the basis of all phonics and reading and Bible knowledge, without first singing it to the simple trochaic rhythm of "Twinkle, twinkle little star," with 7 syllables in every line. How important, for children and adults, are the rhythms in the KJB which make it so easy to memorize!

James H. Sightler, M.D.
Sightler Publications
February 1, 2003