II Timothy 1:12 I know WHOM I have believed
What do you believe and did it come from God?
People in churches often say, "I know what I believe..." and then go on to do things which God says in Bible are adultery.
In such cases, they are making God into their own image.
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In the NT church, God puts HIS Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, inside each person HE chooses and separates to the church.
The Spirit of truth will not deny the Holy Scriptures.
II Tim. 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
What we believe must be founded on scripture.
God will not deny HIMSELF. Thus God does not deny the Holy Scriptures which are inspired by God.
God will not deny HIMSELF. Thus God does not deny the Holy Scriptures which are inspired by God.
... instruction in righteousness
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I Corinthians 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
God will call our attention to portions of the Bible, bit by bit, in HIS timing.
For more than 30 years, I tried to find a church to attend. I would go to the meeting hopeful, excited to be with the church, only to hear pastors misuse scripture, misquote scripture, teach for doctrine things that are not in the Bible. And each time I went to those pastors and the same thing happened. They became angry with me and would not repent in what they had done.
I had no idea why this kept happening until April, 2017, when the Holy Spirit brought one word to my mind to explain everything: "restraint"
II Thess. 2 (NASB)
Let no one in any way deceive you, for it (the day of the Lord) will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?
And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed
God will call our attention to portions of the Bible, bit by bit, in HIS timing.
For more than 30 years, I tried to find a church to attend. I would go to the meeting hopeful, excited to be with the church, only to hear pastors misuse scripture, misquote scripture, teach for doctrine things that are not in the Bible. And each time I went to those pastors and the same thing happened. They became angry with me and would not repent in what they had done.
I had no idea why this kept happening until April, 2017, when the Holy Spirit brought one word to my mind to explain everything: "restraint"
II Thess. 2 (NASB)
Let no one in any way deceive you, for it (the day of the Lord) will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?
And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed
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The ONE restraining the man of lawlessness was Jesus, THE WORD, the scriptures.
As soon as scripture, even a portion of scripture, was removed, the restraint which held lawlessness back from the churches was removed so antichrist could move into the churches and lawlessness could reign inside the churches.
In the KJV this is called, "the falling away" ... I had seen some time ago that the falling away meant churches would fall away from scripture.
But I had not understood that what I kept seeing when pastors twisted scripture, removed scripture, and would not repent, was the apostasy of the end time in the churches as shown in II Thess. 2.
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In II Timothy 3, the apostle Paul speaks of the perilous times that were coming.
Paul speaks of people who will have "a form of godliness". He says these people are ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Paul was speaking of what it would be like in the churches.
Paul says: Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. II Tim. 3:5
These people say "Jesus is Lord" but they deny the power of scripture to rule over them. They explain away scripture by their own reasoning, thus becoming "as gods".
If we are to endure, we must cling to scripture and hold fast to scripture and come away from those persons who say they are the church but deny scripture.
I have accepted this concept of coming away from them. There are so many individuals in past I loved in churches. But I know they did not cling to specific scripture. There are individuals who come into my focus briefly only to quickly disappear, never to be heard from again. I know they are not of God. If they believed as I believe, they would delight in associating with me. Instead they go away from me.
This is I John 2.
18-19 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
They have that form of godliness, which Paul speaks of, but they deny the power of specific scripture and do not believe those scriptures. Yet some of them continue to be teachers at church groups. I simply have to accept they are not really of God and continue in my own life.
Few believe. But there are a few.
We must cling to scripture ... continue to speak of specific scripture ... hold fast to those scriptures.
There are many seducing spirits which would draw us away from those scriptures, if possible.
Perilous times ... now ... in the churches ...
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No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please HIM who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.
Our foundation must be the Holy Scriptures which are inspired by God so we can have a sound basis for that which we believe.
Everything we believe should be built on scripture.
God uses scripture to conform us to the image of Christ. It is not that we create God by what we believe but God recreates us by the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures.
Therefore the apostle Paul says:
Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
By the scriptures and prayer we keep our own flesh under the control of God.
We build our house on that which the scriptures say. Certainly by that which the Holy Spirit speaks to us, but it is going to line up with scripture. God does not deny HIMSELF.
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. I Thess. 5:21
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Church people have Bibles but so often they go by what they hear at their churches and what is passed down to them by their fathers and mothers from childhood and often that is not what scripture teaches.
Sometimes it is similar to scripture and then changes according to the leadership of the church group and what they say, and even by what the masses of people in this world approve today.
But we have Bibles don't we? What does the Bible say?
In previous decades it was "rumored" in some churches that the man must not marry a divorced woman.
Then this disappeared.
What does the Bible say?
Sometimes it is similar to scripture and then changes according to the leadership of the church group and what they say, and even by what the masses of people in this world approve today.
But we have Bibles don't we? What does the Bible say?
In previous decades it was "rumored" in some churches that the man must not marry a divorced woman.
Then this disappeared.
What does the Bible say?
At the time I was born again, 1975, my best friend was a married woman. After a few years, she disclosed to me that she had previously married while she was a student in Italy. She had to become a member of Catholic church to marry her first husband. They moved to USA after they married and he left her. She then met her second husband, the man she was married to at the time I was born again. Hal's first wife died of cancer. He was considering two women who attended his church. He selected Donna. Then before they married, he learned she had been divorced. He said if he had known this he would not have dated her. But Hal didn't seem to be grounded enough in scripture to really make a decision so he married her.
I'm not sure how this happens. It is like there is a saying at previous churches that a man cannot marry a divorced woman. Then the "saying" changes or disappears from the mind of the individual and he does what suits himself.
Why don't they see what Bible says?
Jesus said: Whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery Matt. 5:32
I'm not sure how this happens. It is like there is a saying at previous churches that a man cannot marry a divorced woman. Then the "saying" changes or disappears from the mind of the individual and he does what suits himself.
Why don't they see what Bible says?
Jesus said: Whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery Matt. 5:32
It is like the Bible really doesn't matter to them, and sort of exists, but not really.
To me, the Bible is the Word of God. If you want to know what God thinks, you see what God says about the subject in the Bible. And this is especially true if a person says he is a Christian.
What does the Bible say about this subject should be our basis for decisions of life.
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When I was on radio, a pastor called me about the subject of divorce/remarriage. I told him the scriptures.
About a month later, he called again and asked me if there had been any change.
I replied: "So far as I know, the Bible has not been rewritten."
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II John 9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
At some point, God put into my heart that the Bible is the Word of God and God put certain specific scripture into my heart. I saw people in churches go another way but I knew the truth.
To me it is incredible that a church can ignore scripture and do something other than the instruction given by the Bible. But it just shows us those people in that church group do not belong to God for if they belonged to God they would believe God's word, the scripture, and they would not choose to do the things we see them do.
If they can set the Bible aside, they do not have God.
We believe because God has given us an heart to believe, therefore we who believe the Bible and go by that instructed in scripture, are of God and the others are not of God.
We have to realize this, accept this, and just leave them alone.
At some point, God put into my heart that the Bible is the Word of God and God put certain specific scripture into my heart. I saw people in churches go another way but I knew the truth.
To me it is incredible that a church can ignore scripture and do something other than the instruction given by the Bible. But it just shows us those people in that church group do not belong to God for if they belonged to God they would believe God's word, the scripture, and they would not choose to do the things we see them do.
If they can set the Bible aside, they do not have God.
We believe because God has given us an heart to believe, therefore we who believe the Bible and go by that instructed in scripture, are of God and the others are not of God.
We have to realize this, accept this, and just leave them alone.
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When I was a very young child, I remember going to my favorite aunt and asking her:
"Where is that in the Bible where it says, 'The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.' ?"
I certainly had the essence at that time.
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The question for us should be:
Where is that in the Bible?
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