Tag Archive: The Word of God


The Truth Will Set You Free

Filed under: Emergent, The Good News, Truth — Leave a comment
November 8, 2015

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Whether in a novel, a crime show, or while at work, we have all heard this phrase borrowed by the world time and time again. However, as they understandably do so often, those who  use it strip the phrase from of its actual and powerful meaning. Sadly, many in the church have heard it said so often, they too have perhaps forgotten what Jesus is really teaching His disciples.

Early on in my Christian walk, John 8:31-32 were two verses that had a tremendous and even life changing impact on me. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If you continue in My Word, then are you My disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32. It occurred to me that Christianity, although filled with an amazing testimony regarding the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ wasn’t simply a story that changed my life. It wasn’t one religion among many which just happened to be the one that worked for me. No, Christianity was and is and always will be built upon the bedrock of the truth.

So often people get saved and are then brought into a local church body. They are quickly put to work, staying busy with activity after activity. Soon Christianity is solely defined by the activities and friendships and the Word is marginalized in place of the work. Although there is an important place for the work, unless the Word of God is put first, the work we are doing might very well end up being the work of men, not the Lord.

Once a born again believer realizes, truly realizes that Christianity isn’t merely about a changed life or the work one does; once the Christian really begins to see that Jesus is the one and only way to the Father of Life because He is the truth, then that believer has finally begun standing upon the solid ground.

Undeniably, our firm foundation is Jesus, yet as He reveals in John 8:31-32, our faith becomes solid when it is exercised with the understanding that God’s Word is uniquely and unequivocally true. We need not run to the popular preacher nor to the pop-psychologist, but to the Word of God to know the truth. There is no college, no institution, no religion on the planet that can offer what the Bible can.

Jesus didn’t say that facts will set men free. He said the truth found in God’s Word alone would bring real and eternal freedom to the souls of men. Christianity is one hundred percent based on the truth and nothing but the truth, period.

Unfortunately we tend to wander from the Word, leaning instead upon the words of men. The natural man loves the “all natural” flavors produced and peddled by other men. Yet, there are those who long for something more, something better. There are those who, perhaps for years, have done the “church” thing, yet now realize men and their activities can never truly satisfy. Only the truth will do!

In these two amazing verses, Jesus tells us many things. First, He declares that He is God. He does not say, “If you remain in God’s Word.” He says, “If you remain in My Word.” He is saying the Word spoken to the faithful followers of the LORD from the beginning of time has always been His Word. Jesus truly is God.

He also teaches us that His Word is not simply true, but that it is sufficiently so. Jesus does not say, “If you stay in My Word, you will know part of the truth.” We are promised to know ALL of the truth pertaining to everlasting freedom. God’s Word is truly sufficient. One of Satan’s greatest strategies among believers is not to deny the truth of God’s Word, but instead to deny its sole sufficiency. Once people buy into this horrific lie, they will then be willing to drink from all sorts of muddied streams, all in hopes of discovering some drop of pure water.

As strange as this sounds, this one strategy has literally and repeatedly crippled the body of Christ from walking in the true power and victory God has intended for her. May we not be ensnared any longer!

True freedom comes exclusively from God’s Word. Despite their many claims, absolutely nothing this world offers can produce eternal freedom, nothing. Neither psychology nor religion, neither education nor entertainment will do. The ways of man will always fall short of eternity and often lead to temporal destruction as well.

Those reading these two verses should also inquire about the freedom offered by Jesus. Freedom yes, but freedom from what? Jesus is not providing freedom to go live our own lives independent of divine authority. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Simply put, God’s Word promises to sufficiently bring freedom from sin, from self, and from the power of our first father, Satan.

God’s promise also ensures freedom to finally love and serve the One we were made to worship; the Living and True God, the Creator and Savior of the world. This is the freedom found exclusively in the Word of God, the Word not based on the sinking sands of man’s opinions or Satan’s devices, but rather the Word which is the truth and nothing but the truth.

On this Lord’s day, may we praise and thank Him for His wonderful reminder to stop feeding the flesh. May we cease from fearing and following the words and ways of men. Instead let us wholeheartedly love the truth of God revealed to us by His Holy Spirit as we remain in the glorious, eternal, and sufficient Word of Truth!

“And we know that the Son of God is come, and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” 1 John 5:20

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The Battle Has Just Begun (Part 2)

Filed under: Emergent, Truth — Leave a comment
March 17, 2013

Bible Sword ImageAnother easily forgotten facet in this spiritual battle is this- people are not our ultimate enemies.  “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12. Oh, how easy it is to walk by sight, losing our eternal focus!  Although men are the enemies of God, may we never forget they are also blinded by sin, self, and Satan.  In the end God will be their judge, not us.

In an earthly battle, a sword is nothing less than an efficient and effective instrument of combat, one that has accompanied many a hand over the centuries.  Before His arrest, Jesus even instructed the disciples to buy swords to carry with them in their travels. (Luke 22:36) Although many around the world no longer own swords, spiritually speaking the battle still rages and only a sword will do.  God’s Word is our sword and the Word serves as the only effective offensive weapon in our spiritual arsenal.

The Word of God is both living and active, which reveals that the power of the Word does not merely come from the ink on the pages of the Book.  Rather it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Word of God.  Working through the power of the Holy Spirit, His truth and love flow from Heaven’s throne, bringing to life His Word, bringing the light of the glorious Gospel to life in hearts and minds of all willing readers.

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Jesus is God and…

Filed under: Creation, The Good News, Truth — 4 Comments
August 30, 2010

As a Christian, all of what I believe is completely and utterly centered around who Jesus Christ truly is.  However elemental this sounds, the born again believer will never move beyond it, only deeper into it.  The truth of  Jesus Christ is the absolute key to eternal life and is found in His Word, illuminated by the Holy Spirit of God.  To say we are Christians is to actually say we are followers of Christ and His truth.  It is not for us to claim anything other than His Word as our doctrine.  It has rightly been said that Jesus is not merely a good man.  He is either a liar, a lunatic or the Lord Almighty.  His claims to be The Messiah, The Prophet, The Word of God, The Savior of the World, and The Almighty God are not good unless they are true. 

For those who have moved beyond the stumbling stone of Jesus being God, there is a peace and comfort knowing God became a man, never stopped being God. Entering His creation, Jesus died upon the cross taking away the penalty of our rebellion against Him.  There is rest in knowing that Jesus is our Advocate, the Bishop and Shepherd of our souls.  He truly is the Lamb of God, and the Lord of Lords! 

Although there is comfort and rest in the wisdom that is beyond this world, we always need to be careful not to become complacent,  falling asleep to the lies which our adversary spews forth.  We are to always be on guard and alert against false teachings and teachers which claim to be from God, yet are not.  There is one word that will reveal the heart of false teaching. It is the little three-letter word “And.”  

Why is it that some who claim to hold so tightly to the divinity of Jesus Christ also hold onto the misguided and antichristian teaching of human godhood?  Although many who claim to be Christians would agree upon the fact that Jesus is God, some hold to what I would call the doctrine of “…And”.  “Yes, Jesus is God,” they would say.  But then they would go just a little further…”And…so are we.”  What!?  How can someone who truly knows the Lord of Lords not only fall for such heresy, but also teach such lies?  Is there still a small part of the old man in them that desires to share in the Glory of God?  Perhaps they do not really think they are that bad?  Or maybe they are happy their sins are forgiven, but don’t like it that they won’t get some of the credit for being good enough to get to Heaven.  Or maybe they have never truly believed the true Gospel of Christ.  Consider a few quotes from very popular teachers who claim to believe the Gospel of God…

  • Kenneth Copeland  “Every Christian is a god. … You don’t have a god in  you, you are one“. (Kenneth Copeland, The Force of Love (Fort Worth, TX: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1987), audiotape #02-0028, side 1.)  
  • Benny Hinn says “God came from heaven, became a man, made man into little gods, went back to heaven as a man. He faces the Father as a man. I face devils as the son of God. Quit your nonsense! What else are you? If you say, I am, you’re saying I’m a part of Him, right? Is he God? Are you His offspring? Are you His children? You can’t be human! You can’t! You can’t! God didn’t give birth to flesh…You said, “Well, that’s heresy.” No, that’s your crazy brain saying that.” (Benny Hinn, Our Position in Christ #2—The Word Made Flesh  Orlando Christian Center, 1991).
  • Mr. Kenneth Hagin, “Every man who has been born again is an incarnation and Christianity is a miracle. The believer is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth.”( the Incarnation Kenneth Hagin, p. 12). 
  • Creflo Dollar-“Now I gotta hit this thing real hard in the very beginning because I ain’t got time to go through all this, but I am going to say to you right now you are gods, little “g”, you are gods because you came from God and you are gods. You are not just human.  The only human part about you is this physical body that you live in.” (Sept. 15, 22, 2002, Made after his Kind)
  • Joyce Meyer– “You know, I was listening to a set of tapes by one man and he explained it like this, and I think this kind of gets the point across, he said, ‘Why do people have such a fit about God calling His creation, His man—not His whole creation, but His man—little gods? If He’s God, what’s He going to call them but the god-kind?’ I mean, if you as a human being have a baby, you call it a human kind. If cattle has another cattle, they call it cattle-kind. So, I mean, what’s God supposed to call us? Doesn’t the Bible say we’re created in his image? Now, you understand I am not saying you are God with a capital G.” Joyce Meyer, “Authority and Opposition,” audio tape 1236.

The false teachings here make the dangerous and unbiblical assumption that creation (ie. Adam and Eve) was not only created by God, but created from God.  So just as a kitten comes from a cat, men come from God- making men little gods.  I remember talking to a Mormon once reminding him that God went to great lengths to record how Adam was formed…He was formed out of the dirt.  Man was not made from God, he was made from the dirt which God made out of nothing on Day 3.  Yes God breathed life into man, but no where, absolutely no where does God’s Word teach that man was created from God. 

Interesting side note:  “After their kind…”   All trees, plants, sea and air and land creatures were all created to produce after their own kind.  For mankind, the difference is not that we were created to be something other than men, i.e. little gods, but that man was created to produce after our own kind as vessels for the True and Living God, our Creator and Savior- Jesus Christ. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

So is Jesus God?  Absolutely!!!  But should the true follower of Christ ever believe or teach that we are little gods?  Absolutely NOT!!! May we carefully consider the warning from the One and Only God in Jeremiah 10:11…

“Thus shall you say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.” Jeremiah 10:11 

“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me…”  Isaiah 46:9

“For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.”  Isaiah 45:18

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To Be or Not to Be… Consistent

Filed under: Truth — Leave a comment
July 10, 2010

Consistency is basically defined as carefully sticking with what you believe both in word and deed. No matter the profession, sport, or trade, consistency usually demonstrates mastery over a particular practice.  Even though consistency is many times looked at as an admirable trait, an important question must be asked. In the areas of religion, philosophy, and spirituality, is consistency always a good thing? I believe the answer to this is no.  I, for one, am glad that most who claim to be spiritual are not consistent.  Let me briefly explain. 

Although there is much to be said in this area, for sake of time let us look at those who fall under the category of spiritual relativism.  There are many who would say that there is no such thing as absolute truth.  They would say that spiritually speaking everything  is relative. They would also say that nothing can be known with certainty, and meaning is up to the individual.  Those falling under this loosely defined category would most likely say that experience is the best way to determine truth, and knowledge is trumped by one’s personal experiences.  With regards to Heaven and eternity, they would say that all roads lead to the same place and that many different beliefs, regardless of contradictions all basically mean the same thing. 

What if those who hold to spiritual relativism decided to express their philosophical and spiritual beliefs consistently in their day-to-day lives? If this happened, it would actually lead to the world being a much more dangerous place.  Before you say this is ridiculous, let’s say I believe there are no absolutes.  Let’s say I  think I can create reality any way I want. One morning it occurs to me that I have not been consistent with my beliefs in every area of my life.  So I pledge to practice consistent relativism throughout my days from that point forward.  So while driving to work, I am emotionally moved to drive on the opposite side of the road.and despite the obvious consequences I obey my feelings.  After causing several accidents,  I decide to continue practicing consistency in my belief that all roads lead to the same place by driving in the opposite direction of my job, blindly hoping that I will eventually end up at my place of employment.  After driving for hours, I’m finally forced to put my spiritual beliefs aside for a time, turning on my Garmin to prevent getting fired for missing a full day of work.   

In the same vein, I’m very glad the spiritually relativistic man who is a doctor does not practice his beliefs while I’m on the operating table.  Even in education, most teachers who pride themselves on being relativistic use assessments that are far from it.  Can you imagine answering questions on the test any way you feel, then after receiving an F, you protest to your teacher?  You argue, saying, “Excuse me Mrs. Teacher, I believe my way is as good as yours.  After all, there really are no absolute truths.  What’s right for you may not be right for me.”  Then your teacher realizes her inconsistencies between belief and practice, changing your grade from an F to an A.  While you might rejoice in the short run, after graduating high school you realize that you have actually learned almost nothing. 

Not only would the world be more dangerous and unlearned,  it would also be a much less productive place. From the factory to the construction site, once relativism is put into practice, all would basically come to a stand still. So as for me, I must say I am elated that most who show signs of relativistic beliefs are not consistent. By taking spiritual relativism to its logical conclusions, I must say that it is not good for every spiritual and philosophical belief to be practiced consistently.   

So do consistency and spirituality ever come together in an eternally beneficial way?  Absolutely!  Let us quickly consider the one belief system which is different from any other in the world- that which is found in the Bible.  While relativism, when practiced day-to-day would logically lead to degradation, those born-again, Bible believing Christians who practice consistency will bring true Light and Life to the dark and dead world around them. 

So the question to everyone who believes that the Bible is the exclusive and absolute true Word of God is this: Are you consistent with what God has revealed in His Word? Israel serves as a good example of inconsistency.  Even though redeemed by the True and Living God, Israel chased after other gods, to which the Lord spoke through Jeremiah saying, “Has a nation [ever]changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but My people [Israel] have changed their glory for that which does not profit.” Jeremiah 2:11 

A word of encouragement…

Thank God that the Christian’s consistency is not left up to him to accomplish alone.  The Lord has sent His Spirit to dwell within all those who have accepted the Gospel of God, turning from sinful self to the one and only Savior of mankind, Christ Jesus.  “Being confident of this very thing, that He which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”  Philippians 1:6 “Faithful is He that calls you, who also will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:12 

Conclusion…

So I rejoice in the inconsistencies of those who hold to lies, and pray that they would see their own folly, but am saddened by the inconsistencies of myself and fellow brethren who hold to the Word of God.  May all earnestly seek to allow the Lord to reveal those areas which do not line up with His perfect Word so that we might more fully know and reveal the truth and love of Jesus both in word and in deed. 

To those who have ears, let them hear.

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