Introduction
It's around the time of Halloween and there is a lot of debate between many believers (yes, people who are saved) with three arguments: 1) "There is nothing wrong with Halloween, it is a good time to get kids in church" 2) "While Halloween is evil, we can turn something ungodly into godly and yet, still have a good time celebrating it" 3) "Halloween is of the devil - straight and simple; no Christian ought to celebrate this wicked holiday." These arguments amongst believers alike are going to be examined thoughout this article through the Word of God.
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly of Halloween... Wait, There Is No Good Or Bad, It is All Ugly
It amazes me that you have people who call themselves citizens of Heaven and that they are saved and yet, think Halloween is an okay holiday to celebrate. We will have 7/11 churches in America who promote their halloween events and encourage kids to dress up in their favorite Halloween costume and if it is the best, they will get a prize. This month there was an invitation in the mail for my family to attend an event at a so-called church that had Baptist beliefs and the church is called "Fushion Church". Just the name gives you shivers; but the invitation had a Frankenstein, Zombie, and Werewolf as a picture and it was an invitation to go to a Halloween event. What kind of church is that? It's the same type of church as a lot of professing Christians are today about Halloween. But first - where did Halloween come from? Did it come from Christians or did it come directly from Satan? Is Halloween really that bad? Here is some info from the Encyclopedia Britannica:
"It long antedates Christianity. The two chief characteristics of ancient Halloween were the lighting of bonfires and the belief that this is the one night in the year during which ghosts and witches are most likely to wander about. History shows that the main celebrations of Halloween were purely Druidical"
Halloween is traced all the way back before Christianity and it is all about a night in which ghosts and witches walk about. Halloween is satanic at best so why in the world do Christian parents feel it is okay to send their kids on trick-or-treating? It is either because they are blind or willingly ignorant of the fact that Halloween is evil. The truth of the matter is that Halloween is a holiday reserved for the dead. But what does the Bible say about this? Mark 12:26-27 says, "And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err." God is not the God of the dead, He is only the God of the living. Dead people are well... dead! Why in the world are people so foolish to reserve such a holiday? The Bible gives specific instruction not to regard such wickedness. Leviticus 19:31 says, "REGARD NOT them that have familiar spirits, NEITHER SEEK AFTER wizards, to be DEFILED by them: I am the LORD your God." This was way back in the Old Testament and there was still witchcraft garbage going on. God commanded the Israelites NOT TO REGARD this wickedness. We would be wise to heed to this command as well. Levitus 20:6 gave a warning for doing so, "And THE SOUL THAT TURNETH AFTER such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people." If Israelites were going to do this, God would have set his face against them. Do you realize the greatness of celebrating such wicked holiday? Harry Potter is an ungodly movie that teaches kids that magic is okay. Yet, we see Christianity Today using it to get kids to know about God. How in the world is THAT going to get kids understand the things of God? At Halloween, kids dress up in their goblin, ghost, and wizard outfits. The Bible gives us a firm command to REGARD IT NOT. 2 Chronicles 33:6 says, "And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and DEALT WITH a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, TO PROVOKE HIM TO ANGER." Celebrating Halloween and getting involved with it provokes the Lord God to anger. Many people think nothing about celebrating Halloween simply because they do not care. I'm certain that some people are going to read this article and think, "This guy is a nut. You aren't going to change my mind with a few verses." If that is your attitude, your rebellion fits right in with the wicked celebration of Halloween. 1 Samuel 15:23 says, "For REBELLION is as the sin of WITCHCRAFT, and STUBBORNNESS is as INIQUITY AND IDOLATRY. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king." People that go off and celebrate Halloween KNOWING what the Scriptures saith are being rebellious not against this article, but against what the Lord has to say. You might say, "Well, this is the Old Testament and so it doesn't mean anything to me today." Have you forgotten that the OLD TESTAMENT WAS WRITTEN FOR OUR LEARNING? Romans 15:4 says, "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning..." But, okay, have it your way. There are plenty of verses that prove that God has nothing to do with Halloween and neither should we. Galatians 5:19-21 says, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Is that enough to get your attention? 1 Thessalonians 5:22 says, "Abstain from all appearance of evil." Even if it appears to be evil, we ought to abstain from it. But I promise you, Halloween is more than just an appearance of evil - IT IS EVIL.
Maybe you think I'm being mean by telling you that Halloween is of the devil, but the truth is the truth and there is no middle ground in saying that Halloween is evil. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out. Psalm 97:10 says, "Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked." Did you read that? "Ye that love the LORD, HATE EVIL..." Knowing that Halloween is a wicked holiday, ought you be celebrating it? The answer is no. Jeremiah 10:2 says, "Thus saith the LORD, LEARN NOT THE WAY of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them." We're not even supposed to be learning the way of the heathen, let alone practice what they practice.
A Day The Lord Hath Made...
Rebellious people who read the point above would say, "I know that Halloween is an evil holiday, but can't we turn it around?" That sounds great, but you really can't take something that is evil and make it good. You can make it look good; but in and of itself, Halloween is still a wicked holiday and always has been and always will be. Isaiah 5:20-23 says, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto [them that are] wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!" Saying that Halloween can be a good thing is like saying Hitler could have been a good person. Could have been, but wasn't. The intentions for Halloween aren't even good. Even the devil deceived himself as an angel of light - he looks good, but he is far from good.
Don't be in despair. The important thing is that we as believers don't give the devil this day anymore than what he has hold onto it. I'm sick and tired of Christians who say you aren't even allowed to use this day for the Lord because it is a pagan day. Yes, it is a pagan holiday and I don't believe in trick-or-treating, but Halloween is a great time and day to pass out tracts and show people the evils of Halloween and a great time to use the Word of God against the wiles of the devil. It's a great day to street preach and lead people to the Lord. The Bible says in Psalm 118:24, "This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." The devil has already robbed October 31 enough and it's time we as Christians wake up and realize the devil didn't create October 31, he just stole it from God. It is time to take it back and use it for the Lord's glory. Romans 14:6 says, "He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it..." By Christians acting as if it were hopeless to do anything on that day, we are giving the devil more room to do more damage. Instead of doing this, we should be going out that day and getting people in church. After all, Halloween this year is on the Lord's day as we call it or Sunday.
I encourage each and every believer this year to not celebrate Halloween, but use the day for God's glory. When kids go to your door at night... WAIT! You should be in church on Halloween night so it won't even be an issue. But, if kids go to your door at a later time in the night, give them a tract to read instead of candy. There was once a Missionary that came to my church and he gave his salvation testimony and said he got saved by a tract that was in his candy bucket he got from Halloween. So, don't tell me you can't use this day against the devil! If it wasn't for that tract, this Missionary probably wouldn't even be a Missionary today. People, wake up! This is the day the Lord hath made, it is a day the Lord doth deserve.
Halloween = Helloween
The latter of the three groups of believers believe rightly about Halloween and its wickedness. I don't know about you, but I'm glad to say I'm in the last group of that three that can boldy say, "Halloween is of the devil." This isn't being a bigot or being arrogant, it is proclaiming the truth. No Christian ought to be celebrating this holiday. Let me rephrase that - no Christian in their right mind is going to celebrate this holiday. Halloween is not a holiday to be hallowed or respected. Revelation 21:8 says, "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." All sorcerers are going to have their part in the lake of fire if they do not get saved. If we are not careful, we are following the enemy here, Satan. Satan is a father and the lord of those who do witchcraft.
What really doesn't make sense is that people would much rather worship the devil who is weaker in power than in God who has unlimited power. Why do we have satanists, sorcerers, witchcraft, wizards, etc. in this world? Simply because the devil is doing his job. We as Christians would be wise to do our job and live a spotless, clean life in this wicked world. This world is not our home and so we need not get comfortable here below.
Conclusion
Paul warned us to "awake unto righteousness and sin not". Why did he do this? "Because some have not the knowledge of God." Celebrating halloween is not a good testimony of the true child of God. It gets lost people to think you are just like them. Maybe you are just like them and never have been saved and if you would like to be, please read "How to Go to Heaven" under September posts. Maybe you are saved and guilty of celebrating Halloween and realize that God doesn't like it. If you would like for me to pray for you, please email me at earnestlycontending1611@gmail.com so that I can pray for you. In closing, I'd like to say there is no "treat" to Halloween - it is all just a "trick" up the devil's sleeves.
Dedicated to following God's command to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." (Jude 1:3)
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Dispensational Salvation: A Heresy Among Heresies
There is no doubt that there are lots of heresies taught that are not of the Bible, but the one I would like to look at today is dispensational salvation. This is the teaching that in every dispensation, there were different ways you could be saved. Those who teach dispensational salvation teach that people in the Old Testament were saved by works because Jesus hadn't died on the cross yet. Some also teach that people in the Tribulation will be saved by works. However, time and time again in the Word of God, we see clearly people have been and always will be saved by the wonderful grace of Jesus Christ and that is going to be the only way anyone will ever step foot into Heaven. In Acts 10:43 the Bible says, "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." It's amazing that I must bold in and italicize the word "all". According to Acts 10:43, people in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament were saved by the Lord Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Some do not know the meaning of the word "all" and so we will spend time looking at "all" of what the Old Testament and New Testament has to say.
Old Testament Salvation
Genesis is the very first book of the Bible and the very first book where we find that people began to call upon the name of the Lord. Romans 10:13 says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Calling upon God's name is simply trusting that God's work was good enough/will be good enough for us. People did this in Genesis. Genesis 4:26 says, "And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD." Amazing! People were calling upon the name of the Lord. That means people were trusting in God to save them. Salvation was the same in Genesis as it is today and yet, hyper-dispensationalists would like to twist Scripture and say that Adam and Eve were saved by works because they had to eat of the tree of life to be saved. First off, that was given to them; they only needed to eat the fruit. Secondly, that isn't works salvation; if I told you that you could have a twenty dollar bill of mine only if you took it from my hands, would that be putting a condition on you having the money? No, that's common sense. When God offers salvation, one simply needs to receive it to be saved. God's not going to force them to take it. The truth of the matter is that they were saved when God made coats of skin for them. That is a picture of Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God who would take away our sins. Genesis also speaks elsewhere where people called upon the name of the Lord to be saved. Genesis 12:8 speaks of the time Abraham got saved, "And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD." Once again, we find a situation where an Old Testament salvation was made when Abraham "called upon the name of the LORD." Maybe it is that hyper-dispensationalists have a hard time with what it means to call upon the name of the Lord. Calling upon the name of the Lord is just the same thing as me calling a mechanic to fix my car. I do this because I trust he will do a good job on it and will not make it any worse. This is the same thing when calling upon the name of the Lord. I trust that He will save my soul from the penalty of sin which is death in hell. I would agree that it would have been less believable in the Old Testament that Christ would come to die on the cross, but it was still the same exact faith we have that the sacrifice ALREADY DID take place as what people had to have in what WOULD SOON take place for them. We look back to Christ's sacrifice, they had to look forward to it. You say, "They didn't know about Christ." Once again, Acts 10:43 refutes that idea. Every Old Testament prophet spoke of Jesus Christ. Romans 10:17-18 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." Everyone on earth in the Old Testament heard the Word of God. You might say, "Calling upon God's name was different." How so? How was it different from the way we call upon the name of the Lord? Galatians 3:8 speaks of Abraham's salvation once again, "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed." Abraham heard the gospel of Christ and believed it and got saved. He got saved the same way we get saved today. Clearly, Genesis, as the very first book of the Bible, is filled with people who believed the gospel and got saved.
Another good example of grace salvation taught in the Old Testament is found in Numbers 21 which is where Moses tells people to look at the snake and live. Numbers 21:5-9 says, "And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." The messsage of the cross is clearly taught here in the Old Testament. The message was, "look and live". This is the simplicity of salvation itself. Isaiah 45:22 says, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." This is the message of Numbers 21 - "look and live". There are several things we can note from this passage of Scripture. Instead of God taking away the serpents, God provided a remedy in the form of a serpent. It is the same way with us - instead of God taking away the penalty of sin, God has provided a remedy through the redemption of Jesus Christ. If we look to Him, we will live. Notice here that it was a brass serpent. The "serpent" spoke of the curse that sin brought. The "brass" represents the judgment of God falling on the One who would set us free from the curse and be made sin for us. There was also a pole that represented the cross of Calvary. Just as the serpent was lifted up on the pole, Christ was lifted up high on the cross. John 12:32-33 says, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die." God told Moses to make a fiery serpent of brass, put it up on a pole, and send an invitation to all those who were bitten and about to die to look at the pole and live. It's obvious that Moses preached the GOSPEL OF GRACE. Hyper-dispensationalists fail to see God's grace being shown in this passage of Scripture. That being said, I would like to list seven things that the Israelites WEREN'T told to do:
1. They were NOT told to make a serum to cure the venom they had inside of them. Religion after religion would like to offer a serum to cure the sin we have inside of us by methods such as baptism, prayer, good works, church membership, keeping the law, etc. While these things are good and of itself, it is not going to cure us. Only the blood of Christ and the Work He did has the power and cure to heal us and save us. Jesus Christ is the Great Physician; not my works, not my baptism, not my reformation, etc. In this case, the children of Israel were only told to look at the brass serpent and live. That is SALVATION BY GRACE.
2. They were NOT told to help others while they weren't feeling well. This is another method of salvation by works. Religions would tell us to do works of charity for others and go the extra mile so that we can counteract the deadly virus of sin. While doing these things are a command to the believer, they are not merits to salvation. This is Mother Theresa garbage theology. She would point others to good works as a cure and not faith alone.
3. They were NOT told to fight the serpents. Some preachers would tell us that we need to get a rid of the devil in our life. What good would that do if they were already bitten and about to die? It wouldn't do any good at all. They weren't told to do that at all, only to look at the serpent and live.
4. They were NOT told to make an offering to the snake. Moses or God did not ask for any payment in return for their healing. This was a gift of God just as salvation is a gift of God. Many preachers today contaminate the true gospel by teaching a salvation that has been turned into an exchange, reward, or purchase. Salvation is neither of these, it is a GIFT of GOD paid for IN FULL (not in part) by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Israelites healing was GIVEN AS A GIFT of God.
5. They were NOT told to pray to the serpent. Religions often tell us that we need to pray to God, plead with God, or beg to God in bitter tears for the mercy and grace of God so that He might save us. His grace and mercy, however, are OFFERED to all those that believe on His name. We don't need to beg God for something that He has already given. Likewise, they didn't need to beg God for something that was already offered.
6. They were NOT told to look to Moses. Some people here were looking to Moses and urging Moses to cry to God on their behalf. God's respond was that He had taken there eyes off of Moses and commanded them to look at the serpent. Many people today are looking to Moses, the lawgiver, as their hope of salvation. They are trusting in their imperfect obedience as a tool for salvation - but the simple fact is, this tool is so dull it won't do anything for us going to Heaven.
7. They were NOT told to look at their wounds. Religion teaches that if we look and examine the wickedness of ourselves and promote some religion by making ourselves look better we can be saved. Too many people are occupied in doing this. Religion won't save! Only Christ can save! The Israelites were only told to look at the fiery serpent and then they would live!
People were given the same invitation in the Old Testament as people were in the New Testament and as people are today. We are told simply to believe on Christ and we will be saved. People in the Old Testament were told to simply believe on the Lord and they would be saved. Religion and works never saved a single soul. So, how do people come up with the strange doctrine like this? It is just the same way any false doctrine is made up... by perverting the Scripture and taking verses out of context. For example, Ezekiel 18 is often used to teach that people were saved by turning from all there sins and keeping all of God's law. As much as the saved person is commanded to do so, it was WRITTEN TO A SAVED NATION. Israel was and is today God's chosen nation. You say, "Don't you believe some people in Israel need the Lord?" YES, they need the Lord just as much as we do today. This is why Romans 10 was written - so that people of Israel would be saved! However, God spoke to the nation as a whole in Ezekiel 18 and the living the Bible referred to in this chapter referred to PHYSICAL LIFE. If they didn't get right, God would kill them. But, time after time, God still gave mercy. This is exactly WHY Paul told us to RIGHTLY divide the Word of Truth. It's too bad that some people just go to the extreme and literally cut off verses as if they weren't revelant. There are several verses in the OLD TESTAMENT ALONE that prove their works were as worthless as ours is today and they still had to deal with original sin (they couldn't possibly be perfect)...
Jeremiah 2:22: "For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD."
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."
Psalm 51:5: "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."
Job 14:4: "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one."
Isaiah 53:6: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all."
These are plain verses that speak of people in the OLD TESTAMENT who had a struggle with sin. They couldn't clean themselves, THEY TO needed the BLOOD OF THE ONE SPOTLESS LAMB to take away their sins.
In Acts 15, we see a debate between some that believed they had to keep the law of God in order to be saved. Here is the story...
"And certain men which came down from Judaea [to Antioch] taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. ... And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. ... And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. ... And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which NEITHER OUR FATHERS NOR WE were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. ... Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church ... And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment." -Acts 15:1-2, 4-5, 7, 9-11, 22-24
It's clear from this New Testament passage that not even the Old Testament saints were able to keep the law for salvation. Acts 15:10-11 says, "Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, EVEN AS THEY." This irrefutable verses that plainly say that people in the Old Testament were saved the same way as we are today - BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH. You say, "They couldn't have - they didn't know what faith was." Didn't know what faith was? Here are some verses from the Old Testament ALONE that say otherwise:
Job 13:15: "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him..."
Nahum 1:7: "The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him."
Proverbs 30:5: "Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him."
2 Samuel 22:31: "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him."
Psalm 34:22: "The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate."
Psalm 37:40: "And the LORD shall...save them, because they trust in Him."
Clearly, faith in the Lord was found in the Old Testament. Hebrews 11 has a whole list of people who lived by FAITH and who had FAITH in God that were in the Old Testament.
Scripture upon Scripture dictates salvation was by grace through faith in the Old Testament just as it is today.
Tribulation Salvation
In order to understand salvation in the tribulation, one must first understand that people CAN be and WILL be saved during the tribulation. The only people we are promised who WILL NOT have a chance at salvation are those who have heard the gospel before the tribulation but rejected Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 says, "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." So, people can and will be saved in the Great Tribulation.
The question remains - how are people going to be saved during the Tribulation? Revelation 7:14 gives us the answer, "And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." The answer is simple - they were saved by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
How in the world do people come up with a doctrine like this and say they will be saved differently in the tribulation? My best guess is that they believe those who have heard the gospel in the past and rejected it will be able to be saved but they have to work really hard just to be saved. The problem is that people who have heard the gospel won't get a chance to be saved anymore. Hyper-dispensationalists often use Matthew 24:13 to say that people in the tribulation have to persevere in the faith to be saved, "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." However, that is failure to rightly divide the Word of Truth. Not every "saved" in the Bible means "spiritually saved". If I saved someone from dying, does that mean they will go to Heaven? No, it means I physically saved them. If a believer in the Tribulation doesn't endure, he is going to die and he is not going to remain until the end. Is this a requirement for salvation? No.
Conclusion
Dispensational Salvation is a false doctrine and there are many false prophets who teach this doctrine. Salvation is the same in every dispensation. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God forgave sins in the Old Testament just as He does today and just as He will in the Tribulation. God does not change! Why do people think that we are the special ones that are saved by grace? Usually it is hyper-dispensationalists that believe this and are also antinomian believing the law of God was for only the Jew and it doesn't have anything to do with us. They are "Paulines" who believe that Paul's writings are the only writings that apply to us. Why in the world do we have the full Word of God today if only Paul's writings are applicable to us? Paul himself said that the Old Testament was written aforetime for OUR LEARNING. To teach that salvation is different in each dispensation is to wrongly divide the word of truth and contaminate the everlasting gospel the Bible teaches - the GOSPEL OF GRACE.
Old Testament Salvation
Genesis is the very first book of the Bible and the very first book where we find that people began to call upon the name of the Lord. Romans 10:13 says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Calling upon God's name is simply trusting that God's work was good enough/will be good enough for us. People did this in Genesis. Genesis 4:26 says, "And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD." Amazing! People were calling upon the name of the Lord. That means people were trusting in God to save them. Salvation was the same in Genesis as it is today and yet, hyper-dispensationalists would like to twist Scripture and say that Adam and Eve were saved by works because they had to eat of the tree of life to be saved. First off, that was given to them; they only needed to eat the fruit. Secondly, that isn't works salvation; if I told you that you could have a twenty dollar bill of mine only if you took it from my hands, would that be putting a condition on you having the money? No, that's common sense. When God offers salvation, one simply needs to receive it to be saved. God's not going to force them to take it. The truth of the matter is that they were saved when God made coats of skin for them. That is a picture of Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God who would take away our sins. Genesis also speaks elsewhere where people called upon the name of the Lord to be saved. Genesis 12:8 speaks of the time Abraham got saved, "And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD." Once again, we find a situation where an Old Testament salvation was made when Abraham "called upon the name of the LORD." Maybe it is that hyper-dispensationalists have a hard time with what it means to call upon the name of the Lord. Calling upon the name of the Lord is just the same thing as me calling a mechanic to fix my car. I do this because I trust he will do a good job on it and will not make it any worse. This is the same thing when calling upon the name of the Lord. I trust that He will save my soul from the penalty of sin which is death in hell. I would agree that it would have been less believable in the Old Testament that Christ would come to die on the cross, but it was still the same exact faith we have that the sacrifice ALREADY DID take place as what people had to have in what WOULD SOON take place for them. We look back to Christ's sacrifice, they had to look forward to it. You say, "They didn't know about Christ." Once again, Acts 10:43 refutes that idea. Every Old Testament prophet spoke of Jesus Christ. Romans 10:17-18 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." Everyone on earth in the Old Testament heard the Word of God. You might say, "Calling upon God's name was different." How so? How was it different from the way we call upon the name of the Lord? Galatians 3:8 speaks of Abraham's salvation once again, "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed." Abraham heard the gospel of Christ and believed it and got saved. He got saved the same way we get saved today. Clearly, Genesis, as the very first book of the Bible, is filled with people who believed the gospel and got saved.
Another good example of grace salvation taught in the Old Testament is found in Numbers 21 which is where Moses tells people to look at the snake and live. Numbers 21:5-9 says, "And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." The messsage of the cross is clearly taught here in the Old Testament. The message was, "look and live". This is the simplicity of salvation itself. Isaiah 45:22 says, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." This is the message of Numbers 21 - "look and live". There are several things we can note from this passage of Scripture. Instead of God taking away the serpents, God provided a remedy in the form of a serpent. It is the same way with us - instead of God taking away the penalty of sin, God has provided a remedy through the redemption of Jesus Christ. If we look to Him, we will live. Notice here that it was a brass serpent. The "serpent" spoke of the curse that sin brought. The "brass" represents the judgment of God falling on the One who would set us free from the curse and be made sin for us. There was also a pole that represented the cross of Calvary. Just as the serpent was lifted up on the pole, Christ was lifted up high on the cross. John 12:32-33 says, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die." God told Moses to make a fiery serpent of brass, put it up on a pole, and send an invitation to all those who were bitten and about to die to look at the pole and live. It's obvious that Moses preached the GOSPEL OF GRACE. Hyper-dispensationalists fail to see God's grace being shown in this passage of Scripture. That being said, I would like to list seven things that the Israelites WEREN'T told to do:
1. They were NOT told to make a serum to cure the venom they had inside of them. Religion after religion would like to offer a serum to cure the sin we have inside of us by methods such as baptism, prayer, good works, church membership, keeping the law, etc. While these things are good and of itself, it is not going to cure us. Only the blood of Christ and the Work He did has the power and cure to heal us and save us. Jesus Christ is the Great Physician; not my works, not my baptism, not my reformation, etc. In this case, the children of Israel were only told to look at the brass serpent and live. That is SALVATION BY GRACE.
2. They were NOT told to help others while they weren't feeling well. This is another method of salvation by works. Religions would tell us to do works of charity for others and go the extra mile so that we can counteract the deadly virus of sin. While doing these things are a command to the believer, they are not merits to salvation. This is Mother Theresa garbage theology. She would point others to good works as a cure and not faith alone.
3. They were NOT told to fight the serpents. Some preachers would tell us that we need to get a rid of the devil in our life. What good would that do if they were already bitten and about to die? It wouldn't do any good at all. They weren't told to do that at all, only to look at the serpent and live.
4. They were NOT told to make an offering to the snake. Moses or God did not ask for any payment in return for their healing. This was a gift of God just as salvation is a gift of God. Many preachers today contaminate the true gospel by teaching a salvation that has been turned into an exchange, reward, or purchase. Salvation is neither of these, it is a GIFT of GOD paid for IN FULL (not in part) by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Israelites healing was GIVEN AS A GIFT of God.
5. They were NOT told to pray to the serpent. Religions often tell us that we need to pray to God, plead with God, or beg to God in bitter tears for the mercy and grace of God so that He might save us. His grace and mercy, however, are OFFERED to all those that believe on His name. We don't need to beg God for something that He has already given. Likewise, they didn't need to beg God for something that was already offered.
6. They were NOT told to look to Moses. Some people here were looking to Moses and urging Moses to cry to God on their behalf. God's respond was that He had taken there eyes off of Moses and commanded them to look at the serpent. Many people today are looking to Moses, the lawgiver, as their hope of salvation. They are trusting in their imperfect obedience as a tool for salvation - but the simple fact is, this tool is so dull it won't do anything for us going to Heaven.
7. They were NOT told to look at their wounds. Religion teaches that if we look and examine the wickedness of ourselves and promote some religion by making ourselves look better we can be saved. Too many people are occupied in doing this. Religion won't save! Only Christ can save! The Israelites were only told to look at the fiery serpent and then they would live!
People were given the same invitation in the Old Testament as people were in the New Testament and as people are today. We are told simply to believe on Christ and we will be saved. People in the Old Testament were told to simply believe on the Lord and they would be saved. Religion and works never saved a single soul. So, how do people come up with the strange doctrine like this? It is just the same way any false doctrine is made up... by perverting the Scripture and taking verses out of context. For example, Ezekiel 18 is often used to teach that people were saved by turning from all there sins and keeping all of God's law. As much as the saved person is commanded to do so, it was WRITTEN TO A SAVED NATION. Israel was and is today God's chosen nation. You say, "Don't you believe some people in Israel need the Lord?" YES, they need the Lord just as much as we do today. This is why Romans 10 was written - so that people of Israel would be saved! However, God spoke to the nation as a whole in Ezekiel 18 and the living the Bible referred to in this chapter referred to PHYSICAL LIFE. If they didn't get right, God would kill them. But, time after time, God still gave mercy. This is exactly WHY Paul told us to RIGHTLY divide the Word of Truth. It's too bad that some people just go to the extreme and literally cut off verses as if they weren't revelant. There are several verses in the OLD TESTAMENT ALONE that prove their works were as worthless as ours is today and they still had to deal with original sin (they couldn't possibly be perfect)...
Jeremiah 2:22: "For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD."
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."
Psalm 51:5: "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."
Job 14:4: "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one."
Isaiah 53:6: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all."
These are plain verses that speak of people in the OLD TESTAMENT who had a struggle with sin. They couldn't clean themselves, THEY TO needed the BLOOD OF THE ONE SPOTLESS LAMB to take away their sins.
In Acts 15, we see a debate between some that believed they had to keep the law of God in order to be saved. Here is the story...
"And certain men which came down from Judaea [to Antioch] taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. ... And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. ... And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. ... And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which NEITHER OUR FATHERS NOR WE were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. ... Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church ... And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment." -Acts 15:1-2, 4-5, 7, 9-11, 22-24
It's clear from this New Testament passage that not even the Old Testament saints were able to keep the law for salvation. Acts 15:10-11 says, "Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, EVEN AS THEY." This irrefutable verses that plainly say that people in the Old Testament were saved the same way as we are today - BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH. You say, "They couldn't have - they didn't know what faith was." Didn't know what faith was? Here are some verses from the Old Testament ALONE that say otherwise:
Job 13:15: "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him..."
Nahum 1:7: "The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him."
Proverbs 30:5: "Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him."
2 Samuel 22:31: "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him."
Psalm 34:22: "The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate."
Psalm 37:40: "And the LORD shall...save them, because they trust in Him."
Clearly, faith in the Lord was found in the Old Testament. Hebrews 11 has a whole list of people who lived by FAITH and who had FAITH in God that were in the Old Testament.
Scripture upon Scripture dictates salvation was by grace through faith in the Old Testament just as it is today.
Tribulation Salvation
In order to understand salvation in the tribulation, one must first understand that people CAN be and WILL be saved during the tribulation. The only people we are promised who WILL NOT have a chance at salvation are those who have heard the gospel before the tribulation but rejected Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 says, "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." So, people can and will be saved in the Great Tribulation.
The question remains - how are people going to be saved during the Tribulation? Revelation 7:14 gives us the answer, "And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." The answer is simple - they were saved by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
How in the world do people come up with a doctrine like this and say they will be saved differently in the tribulation? My best guess is that they believe those who have heard the gospel in the past and rejected it will be able to be saved but they have to work really hard just to be saved. The problem is that people who have heard the gospel won't get a chance to be saved anymore. Hyper-dispensationalists often use Matthew 24:13 to say that people in the tribulation have to persevere in the faith to be saved, "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." However, that is failure to rightly divide the Word of Truth. Not every "saved" in the Bible means "spiritually saved". If I saved someone from dying, does that mean they will go to Heaven? No, it means I physically saved them. If a believer in the Tribulation doesn't endure, he is going to die and he is not going to remain until the end. Is this a requirement for salvation? No.
Conclusion
Dispensational Salvation is a false doctrine and there are many false prophets who teach this doctrine. Salvation is the same in every dispensation. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God forgave sins in the Old Testament just as He does today and just as He will in the Tribulation. God does not change! Why do people think that we are the special ones that are saved by grace? Usually it is hyper-dispensationalists that believe this and are also antinomian believing the law of God was for only the Jew and it doesn't have anything to do with us. They are "Paulines" who believe that Paul's writings are the only writings that apply to us. Why in the world do we have the full Word of God today if only Paul's writings are applicable to us? Paul himself said that the Old Testament was written aforetime for OUR LEARNING. To teach that salvation is different in each dispensation is to wrongly divide the word of truth and contaminate the everlasting gospel the Bible teaches - the GOSPEL OF GRACE.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Understanding The Word of God
Many people are confused about certain things on the Word of God and many religious leaders get into debates about whether we have the perfect Word of God today or which one it is. In this article, I will answer three questions that are often asked... 1) Is it possible that we have a perfect Word of God today? 2) Can a translation really be inspired? 3) Which translation is God's Word?
Is it Possible that We Have a Perfect Word of God Today?
Scripture teaches that God is able to preserve His word. More importantly, God HAS preserved His Word. Psalm 12:6-7 says, "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." David said here that God would keep those pure words for how long? 2000 years? 4000 years? How about 1,000,000 years? No, the last two words in verse seven says, "for ever". Forever is how long? Well, it has no end. Even when all people on earth are gone and dead and this earth fades away, God's words will still be in tact. You might say, "That's the Old Testament and that is something David wrote." Jesus Himself gave this promise in Matthew 24:35, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." This is a promise from God - does God ever lie? Can God ever lie? No. Romans 3:4 says, "...let God be true, but every man a liar..." When God makes a promise, it is a promise that is kept and never broken. We often promise things that aren't kept, but this isn't the case with God. God said He would preserve His Words and we certainly can and do have them today.
A common argument is that God only preserved, kept, and inspired the original words that He had told men in Bible times to write down. Certainly, God did inspire the originals. These are also known as the original manuscripts. The problem is that there are tons of manuscripts in the Greek and Hebrew today and not one "religious scholar" would be able to tell you which one was the original. Sure they may have a good guess, but an educated guess is not good enough. The simple fact is that we do NOT have the original manuscripts today because they were either lost, burned, or destroyed in some other way. You don't believe me? In the book of Jeremiah, it speaks of a time where God had an original written. Jeremiah 36:2 says, "Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day." Here God has a book written. In Jeremiah 36:23, a wicked man that didn't like the book decided after three to four pages that he was going to burn it, "And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth." So here we have Jehudi who takes the original and cuts it with a penknife and cast it into the fire. Wasn't that original inspired? Didn't God care about it? If so, He could have kept it from the fire. So, God decides to have another one written by Jeremiah and have some words added to it. Jeremiah 36:28 says, "Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned." However, we found out in Jeremiah 51:63 that God told Jeremiah to throw it in the Euphrates River, "And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates:" This tells you how much God really cares about the originals. It is very sad when I read some doctrinal statement to a church and it says, "We believe that God has inspired the words of God as found in the original manuscripts, but do not believe we have a perfect translation today." That's exactly what some doctrinal statements I have read say. To say that the originals are the only words of God that are perfect is to call God a liar by saying we don't have the Word of God today.
We MUST come to conclusion that God is able, capable, can, and HAS already preserved His words. If He hasn't, He hasn't kept His promise of doing so. God not only said that He would preserve His words, but also our eternal life. 1 Peter 1:5 says, "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." The Bible tells us we are kept by the power of God. Scripture teaches that His Word is also kept by the power of God. If we doubt God's promise to keep His Word for us, how can we rely on His promise of everlasting life and that "no man is able to" pluck us out of the Father's hand? The reality is that God already has faithfully kept His promise to keep His words for us. So the answer to the question, "Is it possible that we have a perfect Word of God today?" is that it is more than just possible, more than probable, but we HAVE a perfect Word of God today.
Can a Translation be Inspired?
In order to answer this question, we have to know what the word "inspired" means. There is more to inspiration than the words being "God-breathed". This is the common definition. Although it is certain that the word "inspired" has to do with God breathing the Word of God into existence, there is much more to it. The word "inspired" literally means breathed into. So yes, God-breathed is part of it. If I pick up a book and finish reading it, I might say, "This book really inspired me." That means that the book I was reading spoke to me. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." This is the real definition of inspiration - making something alive. In the book of Genesis, God made man out of the dust of the ground. Adam, being the first man, was only dust before God ever inspired life into him. Genesis 2:17 says, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Adam became a living soul not because of the dust, but because God breathed life into him. This is the same way God created the Word of God. God didn't just have men write some words down, but God also inspired those words, i.e., gave them life.
In light of the above, the question was, "can a translation be inspired?" Can a translation be as alive as it was when God told men to write it down? Sure it can. People often put God in a box and limit what He can truly do. This brings us back to the ability for God to preserve His word. Psalm 12:6-7 reads again, "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." What does the Bible say the words of the Lord are? They are PURE words. The word "pure" means without spot or without blemish or clean. You say, "It's the original Greek that is inspired." Let me make this clear, there is nothing divine or magical about the Greek or Hebrew; it is just another language just like the English language. God's Words have always been, are, and will always be pure words. David said, "thou shalt preserve them". What's them referring to? It is referring to the pure words of the Lord. God didn't say He would keep the Greek preserved, He said He would keep His words preserved. There was a preacher I once listened to and He was preaching a sermon on the original manuscripts of the Bible. He said, "We can take any Greek or Hebrew and match it with any translation to see if that translation is accurate." What makes the Greek and Hebrew so special? This preacher was acting as if God couldn't speak English. God knows ALL languages because He's the one who created them all at the Tower of Babel. So what is the big deal? The big deal these preachers have is that they are afraid they might offend someone by saying we have God's Word today. The Bible commands us to preach the Word!! How can anyone do that without having the Word of God today? Here is another common argument, "No translation matches the originals word for word." Firstly, how do you know? Have you ever seen the originals? I'm certain that I haven't. Secondly, all we have today are copies OF the originals and even those do not match the originals word for word. Yes, this is a translation but this is why we have italics in the King James Bible to let us know WHAT was added to make the context clear. These italized words are important and necessary when translating to let us know what was added. If you take a sentence from Spanish and try to translate it on a translator such as Google Translate, you are going to wonder if the translator is broken. It's not broken, it's just that a word for word rendition from one language to the next is simply impossible. You might be able to do it, but it simply wouldn't make any sense at all. For example, if I took John 3:16 and translated it from the Greek to the English language word for word, it would look something like, "So for loved the God the world that the Son of him the only-begotten he gave, that all the ones believing into him not may perish, but may have life eternal." Does that make any sense? Obviously, no. This is where italics come into play. They help us understand the Word of God better.
Thus, by far, the answer to the question, "can a translation be inspired?" is YES.
Which Translation is God's Word?
Now that we know a translation CAN be inspired, we must understand that all translations are NOT the same and that only one of them today is inspired and only one of them today is the Word of God. There is a saying, "things that are different are not the same." Is the NIV, NASV, NKJV, RSV, ASV, TLB, NLT, and KJV all the same thing? NO. If you went down to the "Bible" bookstore you would hear the owner tell you, "These are all the same just a little bit different in wording." If that's the case, then it is NOT the same! People make the claim, "I read this one because it is easier to read and easier to understand." This is the modern translations I am speaking of. My belief is tha the King James Bible is the only translation in English that is the Word of God. You ask, "How do you know? Where is your proof? Show me from the Bible." With pleasure, I would love to. There are numerous ways to test and see if your Bible is the true Bible.
Conclusion
I did not put up this article to say that I hate modern translations. I did not put up this note so that you think I hate you for using a modern translation. Instead, I wrote out this note because the simple fact is that a lot of believers do not know or are confused about these three concepts of God's Word. Some people are willingly ignorant and would rather make themselves fools concerning this debate. But, be as it may, the truth is the truth and no matter how much some want to alter it, the truth remains as it is. If you are using a modern translation and have realized today that it is not the Word of God, I encourage you to throw it out and go get yourself a King James Bible. Thank you for taking the time to read this note and if you have any other questions regarding my beliefs on the King James Bible please email me at earnestlycontending1611@gmail.com with your questions.
In Christ,
Daniel Gladu
Is it Possible that We Have a Perfect Word of God Today?
Scripture teaches that God is able to preserve His word. More importantly, God HAS preserved His Word. Psalm 12:6-7 says, "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." David said here that God would keep those pure words for how long? 2000 years? 4000 years? How about 1,000,000 years? No, the last two words in verse seven says, "for ever". Forever is how long? Well, it has no end. Even when all people on earth are gone and dead and this earth fades away, God's words will still be in tact. You might say, "That's the Old Testament and that is something David wrote." Jesus Himself gave this promise in Matthew 24:35, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." This is a promise from God - does God ever lie? Can God ever lie? No. Romans 3:4 says, "...let God be true, but every man a liar..." When God makes a promise, it is a promise that is kept and never broken. We often promise things that aren't kept, but this isn't the case with God. God said He would preserve His Words and we certainly can and do have them today.
A common argument is that God only preserved, kept, and inspired the original words that He had told men in Bible times to write down. Certainly, God did inspire the originals. These are also known as the original manuscripts. The problem is that there are tons of manuscripts in the Greek and Hebrew today and not one "religious scholar" would be able to tell you which one was the original. Sure they may have a good guess, but an educated guess is not good enough. The simple fact is that we do NOT have the original manuscripts today because they were either lost, burned, or destroyed in some other way. You don't believe me? In the book of Jeremiah, it speaks of a time where God had an original written. Jeremiah 36:2 says, "Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day." Here God has a book written. In Jeremiah 36:23, a wicked man that didn't like the book decided after three to four pages that he was going to burn it, "And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth." So here we have Jehudi who takes the original and cuts it with a penknife and cast it into the fire. Wasn't that original inspired? Didn't God care about it? If so, He could have kept it from the fire. So, God decides to have another one written by Jeremiah and have some words added to it. Jeremiah 36:28 says, "Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned." However, we found out in Jeremiah 51:63 that God told Jeremiah to throw it in the Euphrates River, "And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates:" This tells you how much God really cares about the originals. It is very sad when I read some doctrinal statement to a church and it says, "We believe that God has inspired the words of God as found in the original manuscripts, but do not believe we have a perfect translation today." That's exactly what some doctrinal statements I have read say. To say that the originals are the only words of God that are perfect is to call God a liar by saying we don't have the Word of God today.
We MUST come to conclusion that God is able, capable, can, and HAS already preserved His words. If He hasn't, He hasn't kept His promise of doing so. God not only said that He would preserve His words, but also our eternal life. 1 Peter 1:5 says, "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." The Bible tells us we are kept by the power of God. Scripture teaches that His Word is also kept by the power of God. If we doubt God's promise to keep His Word for us, how can we rely on His promise of everlasting life and that "no man is able to" pluck us out of the Father's hand? The reality is that God already has faithfully kept His promise to keep His words for us. So the answer to the question, "Is it possible that we have a perfect Word of God today?" is that it is more than just possible, more than probable, but we HAVE a perfect Word of God today.
Can a Translation be Inspired?
In order to answer this question, we have to know what the word "inspired" means. There is more to inspiration than the words being "God-breathed". This is the common definition. Although it is certain that the word "inspired" has to do with God breathing the Word of God into existence, there is much more to it. The word "inspired" literally means breathed into. So yes, God-breathed is part of it. If I pick up a book and finish reading it, I might say, "This book really inspired me." That means that the book I was reading spoke to me. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." This is the real definition of inspiration - making something alive. In the book of Genesis, God made man out of the dust of the ground. Adam, being the first man, was only dust before God ever inspired life into him. Genesis 2:17 says, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Adam became a living soul not because of the dust, but because God breathed life into him. This is the same way God created the Word of God. God didn't just have men write some words down, but God also inspired those words, i.e., gave them life.
In light of the above, the question was, "can a translation be inspired?" Can a translation be as alive as it was when God told men to write it down? Sure it can. People often put God in a box and limit what He can truly do. This brings us back to the ability for God to preserve His word. Psalm 12:6-7 reads again, "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." What does the Bible say the words of the Lord are? They are PURE words. The word "pure" means without spot or without blemish or clean. You say, "It's the original Greek that is inspired." Let me make this clear, there is nothing divine or magical about the Greek or Hebrew; it is just another language just like the English language. God's Words have always been, are, and will always be pure words. David said, "thou shalt preserve them". What's them referring to? It is referring to the pure words of the Lord. God didn't say He would keep the Greek preserved, He said He would keep His words preserved. There was a preacher I once listened to and He was preaching a sermon on the original manuscripts of the Bible. He said, "We can take any Greek or Hebrew and match it with any translation to see if that translation is accurate." What makes the Greek and Hebrew so special? This preacher was acting as if God couldn't speak English. God knows ALL languages because He's the one who created them all at the Tower of Babel. So what is the big deal? The big deal these preachers have is that they are afraid they might offend someone by saying we have God's Word today. The Bible commands us to preach the Word!! How can anyone do that without having the Word of God today? Here is another common argument, "No translation matches the originals word for word." Firstly, how do you know? Have you ever seen the originals? I'm certain that I haven't. Secondly, all we have today are copies OF the originals and even those do not match the originals word for word. Yes, this is a translation but this is why we have italics in the King James Bible to let us know WHAT was added to make the context clear. These italized words are important and necessary when translating to let us know what was added. If you take a sentence from Spanish and try to translate it on a translator such as Google Translate, you are going to wonder if the translator is broken. It's not broken, it's just that a word for word rendition from one language to the next is simply impossible. You might be able to do it, but it simply wouldn't make any sense at all. For example, if I took John 3:16 and translated it from the Greek to the English language word for word, it would look something like, "So for loved the God the world that the Son of him the only-begotten he gave, that all the ones believing into him not may perish, but may have life eternal." Does that make any sense? Obviously, no. This is where italics come into play. They help us understand the Word of God better.
Thus, by far, the answer to the question, "can a translation be inspired?" is YES.
Which Translation is God's Word?
Now that we know a translation CAN be inspired, we must understand that all translations are NOT the same and that only one of them today is inspired and only one of them today is the Word of God. There is a saying, "things that are different are not the same." Is the NIV, NASV, NKJV, RSV, ASV, TLB, NLT, and KJV all the same thing? NO. If you went down to the "Bible" bookstore you would hear the owner tell you, "These are all the same just a little bit different in wording." If that's the case, then it is NOT the same! People make the claim, "I read this one because it is easier to read and easier to understand." This is the modern translations I am speaking of. My belief is tha the King James Bible is the only translation in English that is the Word of God. You ask, "How do you know? Where is your proof? Show me from the Bible." With pleasure, I would love to. There are numerous ways to test and see if your Bible is the true Bible.
- Copyright Laws: The true Word of God does NOT contain a copyright. 2 Timothy 2:9 says, "Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound." The Word of God is not bound or that is to say, it is not restricted by man. A test of the Word of God is copyright laws. Does your version of the Bible have copyright laws? If so, then it is NOT the Word of God. Why? Because then IT IS bound. Some books require a copyright, but God's Word does not. It can be copied however many times as I want to copy it. So what translations or versions of God's Word are copyrighted? Let's start with the NIV. The New International Version (NIV) is a widely and most popular version that is used today. Yet, it has a copyright and is copyrighted by 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Another version is the ESV and it is copyrighted by Good News Publishers. The NASV is copyrighted by the Lockman Foundation. The NKJV is copyrighted by Thomas Nelson Publishers. The NCV is copyrighted by also the Thomas Nelson Publishers. Need I go on to say more? I'm sure if you have one of the modern translations you could look and see in the front whether or not if it has a copyright. If it does, it is not the Word of God. The King James Bible does NOT have a copyright and therefore, is the Word of God. But, this isn't the only thing that proves that the King James Bible is the Word of God.
- Doctrinal Positions: One common error you might find in many modern translations is their doctrinal error. It isn't God that is putting it in, it is the ones who are making them and the devil himself that is inspiring them. 2 Corinthians 4:4-5 says, "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." Satan is constantly doing his work to blind lost souls by changing God's Word and therefore, change the doctrine God has put in the Bible for us to learn. Satan would have you believe every bible is the same and so that means, all doctrine is the same. "Religious scholars" aren't helping one bit by promoting and/or making new versions and allowing the devil to inspire them. In modern translations, you'll find changed doctrines that involve things such as salvation, the deity of Christ, the Godhead, the preservation and inspiration of the Scripture, and many other important areas. The King James Bible is the only Bible which faithfully keeps the doctrine in place and does not alter or change things God says. For a verse comparison with the King James Bible and other versions, you can follow this link: http://www.av1611.org/biblecom.html
Conclusion
I did not put up this article to say that I hate modern translations. I did not put up this note so that you think I hate you for using a modern translation. Instead, I wrote out this note because the simple fact is that a lot of believers do not know or are confused about these three concepts of God's Word. Some people are willingly ignorant and would rather make themselves fools concerning this debate. But, be as it may, the truth is the truth and no matter how much some want to alter it, the truth remains as it is. If you are using a modern translation and have realized today that it is not the Word of God, I encourage you to throw it out and go get yourself a King James Bible. Thank you for taking the time to read this note and if you have any other questions regarding my beliefs on the King James Bible please email me at earnestlycontending1611@gmail.com with your questions.
In Christ,
Daniel Gladu
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)