LET THE BIBLE SPEAK.

THE ONE TRUE CHURCH anonymous There are many different denominations (man-made churches)! All have different founders. All began at different times and places. Each wears a name different from the others. Each worships in its own way. Denominations differ from one another in organization. They teach different doctrines. They teach different ways to be saved. It is strange that those who claim to believe the Bible will accept such confusion. Millions never question it. Others excuse it saying: “We are all going to Heaven. We are just going by different roads.” Some say: “One church is as good as another.” Still others tell us to “Join the church of your choice.” Does God have a choice? Is there a church revealed in the Bible? If Jesus established a church, should not we be in it, instead of one started by a man? What does the Bible say? The Bible Condemns Division.  Jesus prayed that all who believe in Him would be one (John 17:20-23). Paul rebuked the church at Corin...

Salvation Is In The  Church By Foy E. Wallace, Jr.     The idea that one is first saved by some mystical or mystified, unintelligible or intangible process, and afterwards “joins some church” is a common religious delusion. Yet, there is no truth more plainly emphasized in the Bible than the fact that the process of being saved is the process of entering the church (Acts 2:47).  1. It is affirmed in Acts 4:12 that salvation is in Christ. Then, to have salvation, one must get into Christ. But Paul, by analogy, in Ephesians 5:30, teaches that as husband and wife are one, so Christ and the church are one. “I speak concerning Christ and the church,” he said. Christ and the church being one, how can one be in Christ and out of the church?  2. Paul makes the fact that Christ is “the saviour of the body” (5:23) the ground of his exhortation to the Ephesians concerning the church as the bride of Christ (5:25). He washed it and sa...

Counterfeit Faiths By Ron Boatwright A counterfeit is made to resemble the genuine in many ways, but the resemblance does not make it genuine.  Counterfeits are illegal, useless and worthless.  Making and using counterfeit money will land one into a Federal prison.  Even more serious are the many counterfeit faiths in the world today that are deceiving so many people.  Counterfeit faiths will cause many good people to lose their souls in the eternal fires of Hell, even though they may be sincere in what they are doing.  We are to, "Let no man deceive you by any means" (2 Thessalonians 2:3), because our souls are at stake.  Jesus warns us to, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing" (Matthew 7:15).  Those who promote counterfeit faiths appear as though they are presenting the truth.  People do this by "walking in craftiness" and "handling the word of God deceitfully" (2 Corinthians 4:2). We are exhorted, "That we sho...

SPIRITUAL GIFTS: ARE THEY AVAILABLE TODAY? Jim Dearman “ Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant ”  (1 Corinthians 12:1).  The spiritual gifts in this passage are the miraculous powers, such as prophesying, speaking in tongues (other languages), healing the sick, and raising the dead.  Are such gifts still available to people today?  We must not be ignorant concerning this important matter.  Therefore, let us search the Scriptures for the truth about spiritual gifts. The Bible teaches that miraculous gifts were needed for a specific purpose and for a limited time.  They were to confirm the Word until the revelation was completed in  written form.  Then they would vanish from the scene.  Paul proves this in 1 Corinthians 13:8-13.  Let us study these verses carefully.  “ Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will...

The Indwelling of Sin By Joe R. Price. Intro. Scripture Reading: Romans 7:21-8:4. 1.  The notion that sin dwells in the Christian is finding its way into the thinking of some Christians as they struggle against (succumb to) sin. 2. Doctrine of Indwelling Sin: "sin that remains in them (believers, the saved, jrp) after conversion". It speaks to "the presence and power of sin that remains in the life of a believer" ( John Owen and the Problem of Indwelling Sin , Will Timmins, M.A., http://goo.gl/rlTvX8 ). 3. Be clear : The false doctrines of original sin and total hereditary depravity produce this additional error of the indwelling of sin in the Christian (preached by Calvinists like John Owen [1] , Charles Spurgeon [2] ). 4. This is the "sin nature" [3] error of Calvinism. I.  HOW DOES SIN GET INTO YOUR HEART? A. Calvinism: By Birth as a Human Being. 1. Fall of humanity: Original Sin [4] (Augustine, 354-430): Hereditary stain of sin upon all of...

Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake Text:  Matthew 5:10-12 states, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”   Introduction: God’s people have always experienced forms of persecution. Why do persecutions happen? How should we react to persecutions? Discussion: What is Persecution? Persecution implies an opposition to the general norm of society and her worldly philosophies. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:13-14). 1 John 2:15-17 ...

Different Classifications Of Sin. By William C. Sexton. There are different ways of classifying things, all of which can be helpful in allowing us to see matters more fully. So it is, I believe with looking at sin. Therefore, we are challenged to look in this direction. We need to think of the different ways we can and perhaps often do sin, in order that we might improve our lives. The wages of sin is death (Ram. 6:23). Such is defective, missing the mark; such is deceptive, offering something that it cannot deliver; such is destructive, keeping one separated from God, the source of life (Isa. 59:1-2; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; Jas. 1:15). Consequently, we need to learn how to identify, shun, and be forgiven of sin. Hiding the word of God in our heart is the remedy to keep one from sin (Psa. 119:11) and that word tells us what sin is! Types Based On Disposition. Ignorance - not knowing what it is, being deceived (Acts 3:18) is one kind of sin. Peter said the Jews killed Jesus in ignorance....

Biblical Predestination. Mike Willis Dayton, Ohio. Having rejected the Calvinist doctrine of predestination and election, we now propose to consider what the Bible actually does teach is predestined and what the Bible actually teaches about election. That the Bible actually does teach on these subjects is apparent from a cursory consideration of some of the following passages: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified (Romans. 8:28-30). Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him befor...

Objections to Predestination. Mike Willis Dayton, Ohio. In last week's article, I sought to show the system of Calvinism to be so interrelated that one cannot accept one part of it without accepting the entire doctrine. In this week's article, I propose to list some objections to the Calvinist doctrines of predestination and election. It Changes The Ground of Our Salvation. According to the Bible, man is saved through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Without the atonement on Calvary, no one could be saved. However, the Calvinist doctrine of election and predestination makes one's salvation dependent, not upon the blood of Jesus, but upon the election of God prior to all the ages began. Before the world ever began, God had already decided who would and who would not be saved. Before the blood of Christ was ever shed, God had already decided to save some and condemn others. The shedding of the blood of Christ was just the enactment of a salvation drama according to the do...

Bible Basics: What Is Predestination? Earl Robertson Tompkinsville, Kentucky Anyone familiar with the writings of Augustine, fully utilized by John Calvin in his Institutes of The Christian Religion, and parroted by many denominational preachers and some of our own brethren, knows something about the doctrine of predestination. Calvin wrote, "By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death. This God has testified, not only in the case of single individuals; he has also given a specimen of it in the whole posterity of Abraham, to make it plain that the future condition of each nation was entirely at his disposal" (Institutes, Book III, Chapter...

"God has a Plan for You" Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 By J R Price. Intro. 1. Quote from "Yes, God has a Plan for You" (Bragwell). [ i ] a. Predestination of Calvinism, pure and simple. (The doctrine that God in His sovereignty chooses certain individuals to be saved.) b.  "...that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul". [ii ] (Wikipedia) 2. Predestination in its broadest conception is the doctrine that because God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and completely sovereign, he "from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass," ( Westminster Confession ). [iii ] (1646, Church of England; Reformed...Presbyterian...Evangelical) a.  Martin Luther (1520): "free will is really a fiction...with no reality, because it is in no man's power to plan any evil or good. As the article of Wyclif...

The Beatitudes : The New Character of the Kingdom By Keith Greer As we begin to study this wonderful sermon, referred to by many as " The Beatitudes ," we need to understand that they tell us how Christians  MUST BE  to enter the kingdom. This is what God desires from His children. All Christians are expected to implement all of these characteristics, not just a few, or a "special one." Each trait builds on the one that precedes it. All of them, when put to good use, make us more effective and pleasing in His kingdom. Are these traits what we might think of as "natural tendencies"? No. Each of us must work on and perfect them. We must adapt them to the way we live and interweave them into all parts of our lives as God’s children. Why? Many times, we lose sight of why we need to develop these qualities. By having them, we exhibit the difference between those in the world, and we who are striving to walk in His ways. When Christians are like the wo...