Reproach of Men

Citation, lyrics and music are copied from The Cyber Hymnal and are public domain. Midi file is modified to piano only. Lyrics may be modified for doctrinal accuracy. This version is not copyrighted. If you find it a blessing, please feel free to use it. — In Christ, Paul W. Davis

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. (Luke 24:44)
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:18-19)

Last Updated: 20 April, 2006

Note: There are so many different Bibles out today that it is difficult to list them all. As I obtain more information, I will update the list and categories. Please be patient. If a more extensive list is required immediately, there are other web sites that deal with this issue exclusively.

I would advise anyone to be very careful about using material provided by others. Like everything else out there involving the word of God, people don’t seem to mind lying about it. Somehow they seem to think they will get away with it. The only solution for this is to do your own research and test and try the information. If someone lies about one thing, be assured they will lie about something else. When they lie about the Scripture, avoid them at all costs. Please remember, the Scripture is express: Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (I Thessalonians 5:21)

In Christ,

Paul W. Davis

Masoretic Hebrew Old Testament/Greek Received Text New Testament

This text is the text type of the churches that were never under the Roman Catholic Church. It is notable that the French Olivetian, Luther’s German translation, the Waldensian Bibles, and the old Latin Vulgate (pre-Jerome) were all of this text type.

• 1526 Tyndale’s New Testament
• 1535 Coverdale Bible
• 1537 The Matthew Bible
• 1539 The Great Bible
• 1560 Geneva Bible
• 1568-69 Bishops’ Bible
• 1611 King James Version
• 1833 Daniel Webster Bible

Jerome’s Latin Vulgate (Latin Old Testament and New Testament)

This is the text that Jerome developed for the early Catholic Church. This text stands in contrast to the Alexanderian texts which the early Catholic Church rejected. This text, although corrupt, is more accurate than the Alexandrian texts.

• 1380-84 First Wyclif Bible
• 1390′s Second Wyclif Bible
• 1582-1610 Douay-Rheims, or Rheims-Douay Version

Hebrew Old Testament/Greek Alexandrian Text New Testament

This text type began at the Catechical School at Alexandria, Egypt. This school is the school of Philo and Origen that wedded Biblical principles and Platonic philosophy.

• 1855 English Standard Bible
• 1901 American Standard Bible
• 1946(NT) -1953(OT) Revised Standard Bible
• 1973(NT) -1978(OT) New International Version
• 1958 New Testament in Modern English (J.B. Phillips)
• 1967(NT) -1971(OT) The Living Bible
• 1967(NT) -1971(OT) New American Standard Bible
• 1976 Good News Bible
• New American Bible
• 1966 Today’s English Version (Good News for Modern Man)
• The Message
• 1961 New English Version
• 1990 New Revised Standard Version

Compilation Hebrew Old Testament (Majority Text)/Compilation Greek New Testament (Majority Text)

• 1979(NT) -1982(OT) New King James Version

King James Version
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

William Tyndale’s 1534 New Testament (Modern Spelling Edition)
No man hath seen God at any time.  The only begotten son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

New American Bible (the Catholic bible)
No one has ever seen God.  The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.

Revised Standard Version
No one has ever seen God:  the only Son,^b who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.

New Revised Standard Version
No one has ever seen God.  It is God the only Son,^e who is close to the Father’s heart,^f who has made him known.

New International Version
No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only,^a,b who is at the Father’s side has made him known

The Amplified New Testament
No man has ever seen God at any time; the only ^eunique Son, ^fthe only-begotten God, Who is in the bosom [that is, in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him—He has revealed Him, brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him, and He has made Him known. [Prov. 8:30.]

The Adventures in Odyssey Bible (From the International Children’s Bible, New Century Version Distributed by Focus on the Family)
No man has ever seen God.  But God the only Son is very close to the Father.ⁿ  And the Son has shown us what God is like.

Margin Notes New American Bible
1, 18: The only Son, God: while the vast majority of later textual witnesses have another reading, “the son, the only one” or “the Only Son,” the translation above follows the best and earliest manuscripts, monogenes theos, but takes the first term to mean not just “Only One” but to include a filial relationship with the Father, as at Lk 9, 38 (“only child”) or Heb 11, 17 (“only son”) and as translated at Jn 1, 14. The Logos is thus “only Son” and God but not Father/God.

Margin Notes Revised Standard Version
b Other ancient authorities read God

Margin Notes New Revised Standard Version
e Other ancient authorities read It is an only Son, God, or It is the only Son
f Greek bosom

Margin Notes New International Version
a18 or the Only Begotten
b18 some manuscripts but the only (or only begotten) Son

Margin Notes The Amplified New Testament
e) Moulton and Milligan’s “Vocabulary of the Greek Testament”
f) Supported by “a great mass of ancient evidence” (Vincent)

Margin Notes The Adventures in Odyssey Bible
n But. . . Father This could be translated, “But the only God is very close to the Father.”  Also, some Greek copies say, “But the only Son is very close to the Father.”

Amplified New Testament Preface Notes
BRACKETS [ ]: contain justified clarifying words or comments, whether implied or not, which are not actually expressed in the immediate original text.  However, when the identification of a person or thing represented by a pronoun is certain, the noun may be substituted for the pronoun without brackets.
ITALICS:  point out certain familiar passages now recognized as not adequately supported by the original manuscripts, or italics may be substituted for brackets.  Also “and,” “or” and other connectives in italics indicate that the portions so connected are to be found in the same original word or expression.

Commentary
It is likely that this verse provides one greatest contrasts in verses between the modern versions and the KJV.  If we were to examine the bibles that existed between the Tyndale’s and the King James 1611 we would find that all, including the Douay-Rheims (the Catholic translated version of 1590 designed to compete with the Received Text bibles) read the same:

The Douay-Rheims Bible
No man hath seen God at any time: the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

The reason for this is the fact that the Douay-Rheims, for all its corruption (it is Jerome’s Latin Vulgate), was taken from the same source text as William Tyndale’s New Testament, and the King James Version and not from the corrupted Gnostic texts. Thus, it is very interesting as to where the modern versions get their reading of this verse.  The modern version’s new readings did not appear in English until after the Hort-Wescott Greek New Testament and the subsequent translation which is the Revised Standard Version.  In the Revised Standard version several changes are evident.  They are: “no man” to “no one”, “only begotten Son” to “the only Son”, and “declared him” to “revealed him”.  In the New Revised Standard Version they went one step further and changed the spiritual context of “who is in the bosom of the Father” to the strictly physical context of “who is close to the Father’s heart,”.

All these changes are at a minimum, quite dangerous, but more correctly, for the context of the verse, they are blasphemous.  Let us consider: when the term “no man” is used the context it is clearly referring to mankind.  To now change this to make it “no one” means that the verse becomes all-inclusive.  The use of the word “one” means anyone period, not just man, as there are no qualifiers put on the term.  Fully considered, this must necessarily mean everyone, which creates a contradiction.  By saying “no man” this means those that are only of the race of man, are included.  The Lord Jesus Christ is both God and man.  He is both the Son of God, and the Son of man.  Therefore, he is necessarily excluded from this statement.  By stating “no one,” potentially this means that not even the Son has seen God.  This may not be what they meant, but it can easily be construed from what they wrote.  If someone understands that there is a spiritual world, and that beings live in it as well, those beings would necessarily be included in the description of “one” as well.

Additionally, it is evident that there is error in the modern versions in the statement “the only Son.” In the proper text this is “the only begotten Son”, which in the underlying Received Text Greek is “monogenes huios”.  In the underlying Hort-Westcott text of the modern versions it is “monogenes theos” which the translation committees render “the only Son”.  If we read the New American Bible (which is also translated from the Hort-Westcott (now Nestle-Aland text)) margin notes above, it is apparent that they mistranslate in an effort to maintain the principles that are plainly stated in the Scripture: God is not begotten.  The Son is begotten, but not God.  God has always existed and will always exist.  This, of course, matches what is written in Hebrews 1:5, 10:5 and in Philippians 2:7-8.  It is clear that some of the new translations do translate this passage exactly as written.  Most notably the Jehovah’s Witness translation, which is the New World Translation.  This corrupted  text and translation (with additions) can also be seen in the Lockman Foundation’s Amplified Bible as quoted above.  It should be quite clear that translating this passage as “the only begotten God” is blatant blasphemy as it states that God did not exist from the beginning.  This would be consistent with the Gnostic understanding of the scriptures.  The Gnostics held (and hold today) the view that the Son of God had to be the firstborn (the first created creature) because there could be no equality in trinity. It was impossible for the Gnostics to understand how it is possible for three distinct persons could be totally and completely equal. Hence, they altered the Greek text to reflect a purely carnal (and blasphemous) point of view.

It is unfortunate that Bible Scholars cannot discern a corrupted text and reject it out of hand. Instead, what we see is a wholesale rush to accept the most corrupted of texts, texts which would have been quickly rejected by virtually everyone 400 years ago – even by the Catholics, as their Douay-Rheims Bible demonstrates.

Copyright 2007. All scripture is Authorized King James Version, 1769 edition. This article may be copied and used without permission of the author, provided it is copied and used in its entirety

I read the news, not generally from the newspapers, though that occasionally does happen, but on the internet. Most every link in my Bookmarks is to some news source, technical or religious site. The problem with reading the news is that the bias of the reporters must be accounted for, and the truth of the matter has to be carefully discerned. I wish it were the case with the following.

On Thursday, August 23, 2007, MSNBC ran a story of a megachurch in Tampa, Florida that is having some trouble. Specifically, the church’s pastors are divorcing. Now, I know this is not something new to modern day America. But it does highlight a very real problem — one of claiming to follow God, all the while being totally disobedient to His word. It does not take the proverbial “rocket scientist” to see the very clear differences between what the pastors of this church were doing, and what the Bible plainly states.

In looking at the problem, let’s begin at the obvious: the fact that the church’s pastors are divorcing. In Scripture there are specific instructions given for pastors, including the requirements to be a pastor. Since there are requirements, it really is important to heed them since God gave them to be followed, not to be ignored or set aside as drivel.

First, the position of pastor is one of calling. What this means is that the LORD God calls a specific person to a specific task (a calling) and gifts (or enables and empowers) them to perform that task. This calling is always consistent with everything that the Lord has stated and performed elsewhere. Moreover, it is fully consistent with what He has recorded in His word. As such, we should find an example of callings the Lord has done in Scripture. There are two (among many) that are clear and prominent in Scripture — one Old Testament, and one New Testament, that I will use.

In I Samuel, chapter 3, the calling of Samuel is detailed for all history. There are some things that are done differently in our time as opposed to the time of ancient Israel, particularly the working of signs (no longer done) and such like. But, the essence of the calling remains the same — the LORD plainly communicated to Samuel’s heart what He wanted from Samuel, what He was displeased with in Eli and his house, and Samuel’s response to the calling, which is encapsulated in the following verse:

And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. (I Samuel 3:19)

In the New Testament there are examples of several callings that we can to choose from, but the one most like the calling of a pastor today is found in the life of Timothy, who was discipled by the apostle Paul and called of God to be a pastor.

Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek. And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. (Acts 16:1-4)

in the above passage we should take note that Timotheus (Timothy ) already had a good testimony before the brethren, and had plain and clear evidence of true faith in the Lord. This was evident enough that the apostle Paul took Timothy with him to be discipled and to assist in the work of preaching the gospel and establishing churches. In the following passages, the work of Timothy in assisting the apostle Paul is demonstrated, and Timothy’s calling is validated. As an aside, please note the total lack of Bible college or seminary in the training of Timothy.

For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church. (I Corinthians 4:17)

After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome. So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season. (Acts 19:21-22)

Now if Timotheus come, see that he may be with you without fear: for he worketh the work of the Lord, as I also do. Let no man therefore despise him: but conduct him forth in peace, that he may come unto me: for I look for him with the brethren. (I Corinthians 16:10-11)

But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. (II Corinthians 1:18)

But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel. Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. (Philippians 2:19-23)

Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone; And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith: That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. (I Thessalonians 3:1-3)

Thus, when the apostle Paul wrote unto Timothy, as Timothy was pastor of the church at Ephesus, it was to remind and exhort Timothy to calling that the LORD had laid upon him. In writing, Paul reminded Timothy of his beginning and gifting for the work of the LORD. But he also reminded him of something else that the pastor’s of modern America’s churches seem to have utterly forgotten — the afflictions of the gospel.

. . . When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, . . .(II Timothy 1:5-9a)

Thus, Timothy’s calling and proof of the ministry, though not identical to Samuel’s, had some common features:

First, the service and discipleship under an established and proven man of God. In short, Samuel and Timothy both served others for long periods of time prior to being established as the man of God. (As an aside, we should not take Eli’s failure in service as proof that he was not a man of God, rather it demonstrates the ever present pressure to depart from the LORD’s established criteria for service, particularly from a man’s family.)

Second, and extremely important, is the fact that neither Samuel nor Timothy ever departed from the express, literal word of God. If ever there were an imperative, this is it. The man of God, called unto a work, must not ever depart from the solid foundation of Jesus Christ and His teaching. To do so is to preach and teach another gospel. It does not matter how subtle the change or changes may be, any change at all will not accurately represent the truth of the Word of God. I am convinced by the testimonies of both men that, by the LORD, they knew and understood this.

Thus, we come to the point of examining what the Scripture states plainly about the requirements for a pastor or bishop. In the following passage from Ephesians, chapter 4, instruction is given to the church at Ephesus, and recorded for us all, how that God, through Christ, gifts everyone in the church for some work, and for the express purpose of the believer’s growth in Christ

But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:7-16)

Now, it should be plain that it is the LORD who does the calling, as was clearly seen in the case of Samuel and by testimony of Paul concerning Timothy. It should also be clear that it is the LORD who gives the gift to perform the calling as evidenced in the foregoing passage. It is more succinctly put in another place:

Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. (I Thessalonians 5:24)

So then, it is the LORD’s calling, and the LORD’s equipping for the ministry. Will the LORD then call someone contrary to a criteria He has plainly laid out? As part of his admonition and instruction to Timothy, the apostle Paul set forth the criteria for a pastor in the following passage. Plainly, this was not to establish to Timothy that he was called of God to pastor, rather it was to give a brief listing of criteria that could and would quickly establish whether or not a man was qualified for the calling he claimed to have. We can see this in the very first sentence of the passage, wherein it is stated “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.” indicating clearly that there were individuals who desired to be pastors then even as now. And, that some of those individuals were not and could not be qualified for the office of pastorate. Thus, the list:

This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. (I Timothy 3:1-7)

Now, we can order this as a list, because that is what it is. As such, to quickly determine whether a man is qualified or not, we can simply check off the list to eliminate the would-be pretenders:

• A bishop then must be blameless
• the husband of one wife
• vigilant
• sober
• of good behaviour
• given to hospitality
• apt to teach
• not given to wine
• no striker
• not greedy of filthy lucre
• patient
• not a brawler
• not covetous
• one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity
• he must have a good report of them which are without

Beyond doubt, the second item and last items on the list eliminate the “ministry” of Paula White as a pastor of anything relating to God. Quite clearly, the first word of the last item is “he”, in addressing this particular qualification of the pastoral candidate. However, if we carefully note in the reading of the article, it eliminates Randy White as well as it is quite clear in the article that this was his second marriage, and thus he is not “the husband of one wife”.

Worse yet, the article is very plain that they (the pastors) preached a prosperity theology that is condemned both in the above passage and in other passages of Scripture as well. Suffice to say that both Randy and Paula White have let the word of God fall to the ground, if indeed they ever held it in the first place. In this, there is a fundamental difference between the Whites and their testimony, and Samuel and Timothy and theirs. From what I perceive, that difference is expressed in the LORD’s statement in John 14:

If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15)

Which raises the question posed by Christ:

And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? (Luke 6:46)

This is the problem in America, but it is by no means unique to America, nor to this period of time. There have always been those who claim a calling from God — so that they could use the influence and power they gain for their own ends. However, there is a relatively easy way to thwart the efforts of such individuals — by strict adherence to the word of God. If someone had made it plain to the Whites that they were engaging in something that obviously could not be of God, and hindered their efforts, they themselves might have repented and not led so many people astray.

Nonetheless, what does this state about so many in this nation, particularly those who attend churches such as the “Without Walls International Church,” claim to know the LORD, yet will not be obedient to His express and plain word? I think the LORD stated it precisely when He had Isaiah pen the following words about Israel:

Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. (Isaiah 29:13-14)

Is it any wonder that America has totally lost her way? America’s churches, like Israel, have forsaken the true way of God in favor of having the label, but no substance behind it.

Finis

I believe that the Holy Bible was written by men that were supernaturally inspired. The Scriptures are the truth without any admixture of error for their matter. They are, and shall remain to the end of the age, the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to man. The Holy Bible is the true center of Christian union. The Scriptures are the only standard by which all human creeds, conducts and opinions are to be presently judged, and will be judged at the day of the LORD. I hold that the Scriptures consist of 66 Books making one Holy Bible. Moreover, that the King James Version of the Bible is the word of God for the English-speaking people.

The Books of the Holy Bible

Old Testament

Genesis; Exodus; Leviticus; Numbers; Deuteronomy; Joshua; Judges; Ruth; I Samuel; II Samuel; I Kings; II Kings; I Chronicles; II Chronicles; Ezra; Nehemiah; Esther; Job; Psalms; Proverbs; Ecclesiastes; Song of Solomon; Isaiah; Jeremiah; Lamentations; Ezekiel; Daniel; Hosea; Joel; Amos; Obadiah; Jonah; Micah; Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah; Haggai; Zechariah; Malachi.

New Testament

Matthew; Mark; Luke; John; Acts; Romans; I Corinthians; II Corinthians; Galatians; Ephesians; Philippians; Colossians; I Thessalonians; II Thessalonians; I Timothy; II Timothy; Titus; Philemon; Hebrews; James; I Peter; II Peter; I John; II John; III John; Jude; Revelation.

Verse References

Psalm 119:89; Psalm 138:2; II Timothy 3:16-17; Revelation 22:18-19; John 17:17; John 3:32-34; II Peter 1:20-21; I Peter 1:10-12; Zechariah 1:1; Psalm 19:7-11; Exodus 20:3-17; Psalm 1:2; John 12:48; Psalm 12:6-7; Isaiah 8:20

Scriptures:

Though this more properly belongs in Primary school English class, what I wish to present here is something which is necessary for anyone studying the Scripture in English — English grammar and sentence structure. In this case, it should be more profitable simply because we will use the King James Bible as our workbook. Beside that, by using the Scripture, we might actually be shown something we have not seen heretofore.

Regardless of how we may feel about English grammar, the ability to read and write in an understandable way, without error, is essential to the accurate communication of ideas. How else are we supposed to prove out things, preserve the record of events, our thoughts, ideas, etc.? How else can we instruct someone without having to actually be in front of them? In all, despite the fact that primary and secondary English teachers seem to strive to make English a bore, it is truly a necessary subject, and excelling in it equips one well for communicating, at least in the technical part of it.

However, there are those who seem to think that the rules of grammar can be summarily dismissed if they get in the way of proving a point they believe to be valid. For example, the Calvinists¹ think the following passage “proves” something about their doctrine of “predestination” and “unconditional, sovereign election”:

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, (Ephesians 1:4-5)

Now, you can Google the term “Eph. 1:4-5” or find any number of Calvinist/Reformed writings and the above passage will figure prominently. In short, they depend on it heavily to “prove” their doctrine.

But, we have to ask the question(s):

Why does the thought of verse 5 end with a comma (,)? That’s not how English sentences normally end, is it?

And the answer:

No. In fact, that is not how sentences in English end at all. Rather, sentences in English end with a period (.). Questions (a class (or type) of sentence) end with a question mark (?).

This being the case, we have cause to determine whether the verse citation is actually whole and correct in its context. Or, we could just blindly accept what the Calvinists tell us and unquestioningly trust them. After all, they wouldn’t lie, would they?

In any case, we find that the sentence starts in verse three, not verse four, and ends with verse six, not verse 5:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Now, we need to note the actual punctuation of the sentence, and note what that punctuation means as pertaining to the structure of the sentence, and the context(s) defined therein.

We find that verse three ends with a colon (:); verse four has a comma (,) in the midst, and ends with a colon (:); verse five also has a comma (,) in the midst and at the end(,), and, verse six has a comma (,) and ends with a period (.) ending the sentence.

Now, most of us readily understand that a period ends a sentence, and a comma separates phrases or clauses in the sentence. But the colon and semi-colon are not so commonly understood. However, as we can plainly see, the colon figures prominently in the structure of this sentence in Ephesians, Chapter 1. Hence, we need to have the colon defined somewhat. The following citations explain the function of the colon in grammar and sentence structure:

Using Colons to Create Compound Sentences

We all know that we can use a semicolon to join two sentences to create a compound sentence when the two sentences are closely related. But when the first sentence of the pair creates an expectation in the reader that the second sentence fulfills, then the correct punctuation to use to connect them is a colon. In other words the second sentence illustrates, explains or exemplifies the idea expressed in the first sentence.²

Colon: a colon introduces a formal list, long quotation, equation, or definition.³

dependent clause-clause that is subordinate to, or dependent on, the independent clause⁴

What this all means is that the passage of Ephesians, Chapter 1, verses 3 through 6 is quite the complex sentence that cannot have sections lifted out and arbitrarily used to support doctrine. Instead, what must be done is break down the sentence and analyze it, without regard to verse numbers. This does bring us to the point of addressing verse numberings, and why they exist. After all, the verse numbers likely have a greater influence on how people read the Bible than any other single factor.

To shed some light on verse numbers and where they come from, it is essential to note that William Tyndale’s 1534 New Testament, and his partially completed Old Testament do not have verse numbers. According to one source I have,⁵ the Geneva Bible, published in 1577, was the first English Bible to have verse numbers. What this means is that verse numbers are not necessary to understand the Scripture, (Yes, some think they are indispensable for understanding the Bible.),and they are very much like “letters in red” in the Bible — very misleading at times. The problem here is that the “helps” placed in the Bible to help us find things, cease being helps to a high percentage of folks and become equal with Scripture itself for determining doctrine. So it is with the verse numbers. They are there to “help” us reference particular places in Scripture, much like the line numbers in a legal document. That is all they are for. We should never allow the verse beginnings and endings to override the rules of language structure and grammar, as that will — sooner rather than later — lead to errors in doctrine.

With that stated, we should now know that the citation of Ephesians 1:4-5 in support of doctrine is entirely in error. Even if the doctrine supported by those verses was indeed legitimate, it would still be wrong to pull the verses out of the context of the sentence, and use them alone to support the doctrine. The only possible exception to this that it has been firmly established the context of the sentence that they do state a certain thing, and that has been shown prior to citing the verses only, with appropriate citation to indicate quotation of partial sentence.

Why be so nitpicky? Precisely because of this:

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, (Ephesians 1:4-5)

If we indent to show dependency, we find very quickly that verse 4 is dependent upon verse three, and verse 5 is dependent upon verse 4 — as we see here:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Now it becomes very apparent that verses 4 and 5 are only applicable within the context of “in Christ” as established in verse 3. Now, the term “in Christ” means specifically “one who is born-again in Christ” and has no application to anyone not born-again. We find confirmation of this in I Corinthians, Chapter 15:

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (I Corinthians 15:21-22)

What I Corinthians 15:21-22 confirms for us in this context, is that the term “in Christ” means expressly to have been “born-again” or saved. Hence, in the passage in Ephesians, Chapter 1, verses 4, 5, and 6 are all framed within the context of addressing someone who is already born-again, or saved. It is not addressing anyone who is not saved, as the term “in Christ” is expressly used immediately prior to the colon in verse three.

Thus, verse 3 sets the context of “in Christ” which verses 4 and 5 are only viable within that context, and not viable outside the specific context of “in Christ.” Hence, everything in verses 4, 5 and 6 do not apply to any predestination to salvation, but apply to what will happen after salvation. Moreover, verses 5 resides even further within the bounds of salvation in that it explains that after we are saved, we are predestined to adoption, which is beyond simple salvation. Verse 6 continues the thought and states that the adoption is “To the praise of the glory of his grace . . .” and that we are “accepted in the beloved.”

If we then go back and examine the rest of Scripture to see if support for this exists, we should not be surprised by what we find. After all, a brief examination of the structure and grammar does show that the predestination spoken of here is predestination to certain changes in us at salvation, and to promises made to us in eternity past. Now, in accordance with the grammar of verse 4, we find the clause broken into two phrases, separated by a comma:

According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,

and:

that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

As we can see in the above clause, it is separated into two distinct phrases by the use of a comma. Immediately following the comma, is the word “that” which is indicative of the purpose of the statement before the comma. We can know this by the following citation:

That, conjunctive

2. Used to introduce a clause expressing purpose; as, they died that we might live.⁶

What is shown by the dictionary definition, is a clear statement of purpose for everything going before the comma:

According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world . . .

To the end:

we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

In which I have replaced the word “that” with the equivalent phrase “to the end” for the purpose of clarification. Hence:

He (the LORD) hath chosen (chose or “did choose”) us (the saved) in him (in Christ) before the foundation of the world (before the world ever existed), that (to the end) we (they) should be holy and without blame (we/they should stand blameless) before him (the LORD) in love.

Rewritten:

The LORD did choose the saved in Christ before the world ever existed, to the end they should stand blameless before the LORD in love.

Thus, what the clause is stating is not “chose to salvation” before the foundation of the world, but “chose to be holy and without blame in Christ.” This conclusion is directly supported by other Scripture:

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. (I Peter 1:13-16)

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (Titus 2:11-14)

There are not, no matter how much the Calvinist/Reformed adherents would like there to be, any verses that directly support predestination to salvation (unconditional, sovereign election) like the passages above support predestination to be holy and without blame in Christ. In fact, there are no passages in Scripture that support predestination to salvation at all, as a proper analysis of the grammar, sentence structure, and context of the passages do demonstrate.

Now, in the case of verse four, we have it doubly reinforced that this “predestination” spoken of is to be “holy and without blame in Christ,” as verse three set the specific context of being in Christ, and all clauses and phrases of the sentence which follow fall expressly within that context due to the presence of the colon (:) at the end of verse 3. This context is expressly having been saved or being in Christ. Additionally, we also now have verse four showing us plainly that the “predestination” is for the purpose of making the children of the LORD holy, without sin, and without blame before the LORD God. However, the sentence does not end with that thought, but continues to take us further into understanding what the LORD has done for His children as it continues by use of another colon, plainly indicating that verse 5 is yet another subordinate clause:

Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

Here we find, in yet another subordinate clause — predestination, and the definition of what that predestination applies to. In breaking down the clause, we see that we are “predestinated unto,” which is the same as being “predestinated to” which the simple word “to” is defined thus:

to —prep.

1 expressing direction or position in relation to a particular location, point, or condition. ->chiefly Brit. (in telling the time) before (the hour specified).

2 identifying the person or thing affected.

3 identifying a particular relationship between one person or thing and another. ->indicating a rate of return on something: ten miles to the gallon.

4 indicating that two things are attached.

5 governing a phrase expressing someone’s reaction to something: to her astonishment, he smiled.

6 used to introduce the second element in a comparison.

7 placed before a debit entry in accounting.

—infinitive marker 1 used with the base form of a verb to indicate that the verb is in the infinitive. ->(about to) forming a future tense with reference to the immediate future.

2 used without a verb following when the missing verb is clearly understood: she said she didn’t want to.

—adv. so as to be closed or nearly closed.

-ORIGIN OE tM (adv. and prep.), of W. Gmc origin.⁷

Hence, by senses 1, 2, 3, and 4, the “predestination” spoken of is directly attached to “the adoption of children by Jesus Christ.” If we understand salvation, we should also understand that the LORD God did not have to adopt us. He could have simply saved us and left us saved, without any sort of adoption. He did not have to make us His children again. After all, we departed from Him, and were not His children spiritually. However, it is expressly a part of salvation that we become His children by adoption, as we are subject to the new birth in Christ. Nonetheless, we would never understand this were we not expressly told.

Now, we see also here that this was done “according to the good pleasure of his will,” which some make much out of as if to say that what the LORD God did was either arbitrary or a mystery. However, it is neither, and we should understand this was done in righteousness, fully consistent with everything else the LORD God does. Thus, it is a matter of righteousness that we are created in Christ Jesus to be holy and without blame, zealous of good works, and adopted into the family of God to be the children of God, as we are the children of Christ, for it is written:

For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. (Hebrews 2:10-13)

Which is taken from Isaiah, Chapter 8:

Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. (Isaiah 8:18)

And indeed, the children of Christ, are a wondrous thing to behold as the world cannot understand what motivates them to do the things they do, and be dedicated unto a Lord they have never seen. This was the mystery that Nicodemus could not understand, which the Lord Jesus Christ had to explain to him:

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. (John 3:5-8)

But I digress.

In returning to the subject at hand, we find also that all this was done to this end:

To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

That the LORD God can take wicked, sinful man and change him completely into a holy, righteous creature is almost quite beyond belief, were the LORD God not diligent in repeatedly instructing us that He has done so.

Thus, the sentence ends with the statement that the children of God are accepted in Christ, and this is to the praise of the glory of His grace. It is oft forgot that grace is indeed greater than sin, and thus the argument is speciously made that only certain individuals are predestined to be saved and all others lost. Instead what we find in Scripture is quite the opposite:

Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)

And again:

And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (I Timothy 1:12-15)

The Scripture cannot be so express and plain about grace “much more” abounding than sin, and Christ coming into the world to save “sinners” and not mean that salvation is freely available and intended for every last person on the face of the earth. We can confirm that by the following passages from Isaiah:

Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. (Isaiah 45:20-23)

And again:

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:1-7)

And from Jonah:

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry? (Jonah 4:1-4)

And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle? (Jonah 4:9-11)

You know, I don’t want to mock the adherents of Calvinist/Reformed doctrine, but it really begs the question when it comes to Nineveh and the LORD God’s mercy on Nineveh:

If the LORD God were so merciful to Nineveh, that utterly wicked city, that He sent His prophet to preach to them so they could be spared, would not the LORD God desire to save everyone on the face of the earth so they would not perish in Hell?

I dunno. What does the Scripture state?

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. (I Timothy 2:1-6)

Hence, what the Calvinists and Reformed adherents believe is a passage that supports their heinous doctrine, is nothing more than a sentence deliberately ripped apart and pulled totally out of context and then grammar totally ignored on the parts that are lifted. As can be easily seen, even if verses 4 and 5 are set by themselves, it is abundantly clear that the “predestination” spoken of applies only to what happens to the believer AFTER they are saved, not who will be and who won’t be saved.

Those who hold to Calvinist/Reformed theology remind me of the wicked Haman. . .

1. Though those holding the doctrine labeled “Calvinism” take exception at having that label applied to them, it is nonetheless true that John Calvin did more than anyone else in defining the doctrine and promoting it. Whether an individual chooses to be identified as “Reformed,” “Augustinian,” “Sovereign Grace,” or “Primitive Baptist,” the doctrine remains the same.↩
2. http://www.uhv.edu/ac/grammar/colons.asp↩
3. http://writing.umn.edu/tww/disciplines/biological_sciences/research/errors.pdf, page 13↩
4. http://www.sti.nasa.gov/sp7084/glos.html↩
5. Landmarks of English Bible Manuscript Evidence, Pastor Robert J. Sargent, Bible Baptist Church Publications, 1989↩
6. Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, copyright 1983↩
7. Oxford English Concise Dictionary, Wordperfect integrated edition.↩

I read the news, not generally from the newspapers, though that occasionally does happen, but on the internet. Most every link in my Bookmarks is to some news source, technical or religious site. The problem with reading the news is that the bias of the reporters must be accounted for, and the truth of the matter has to be carefully discerned. I wish it were the case with the following.

On Thursday, August 23, MSNBC ran a story of a megachurch in Tampa, Florida that is having some trouble. Specifically, the church’s pastors are divorcing. Now, I know this is not something new to modern day America. But it does highlight a very real problem — one of claiming to follow God, all the while being totally disobedient to His word. It does not take the proverbial “rocket scientist” to see the very clear differences between what the pastors of this church were doing, and what the Bible plainly states.

In looking at the problem, let’s begin at the obvious: the fact that the church’s pastors are divorcing. In Scripture there are specific instructions given for pastors, including the requirements to be a pastor. . . more

From time to time I receive notifications of the surveys Barna Group does relating to religion, and specifically Christians and Christianity. The title of the latest survey is “Many Churchgoers and Faith Leaders Struggle to Define Spiritual Maturity“¹

The results, though distressing, are not surprising. The sad truth is the results should not surprise anyone familiar with the study the Barna Group released on the 10^th of April titled “Most American Christians Do Not Believe that Satan or the Holy Spirit Exist”²

It is an essential and integral part of Scripture that the Holy Ghost exists, is a real person, and the third Person of the Godhead. It is also clear from Scripture that Satan exists and is a real person as well. Thus, without having a basic trust in the Scripture and what the Scripture teaches, how could anyone ever understand what spiritual maturity is, let alone try to get there?

When the study on the existence of the beliefs of “Christians” demonstrates the following:

Four out of ten Christians (40%) strongly agreed that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.” An additional two out of ten Christians (19%) said they “agree somewhat” with that perspective. A minority of Christians indicated that they believe Satan is real by disagreeing with the statement: one-quarter (26%) disagreed strongly and about one-tenth (9%) disagreed somewhat. The remaining 8% were not sure what they believe about the existence of Satan.

Although a core teaching of the Christian faith is the divinity and perfection of Jesus Christ, tens of millions of Christians do not accept that teaching.³ More than one-fifth (22%) strongly agreed that Jesus Christ sinned when He lived on earth, with an additional 17% agreeing somewhat.⁴ Holding the opposing view were 9% who disagreed somewhat⁵ and 46% who disagreed strongly. Six percent did not have an opinion on this matter⁶.

Much like their perceptions of Satan, most Christians do not believe that the Holy Spirit is a living force, either. Overall, 38% strongly agreed and 20% agreed somewhat that the Holy Spirit is “a symbol of God’s power or presence but is not a living entity.” Just one-third of Christians disagreed that the Holy Spirit is not a living force (9% disagreed somewhat, 25% disagreed strongly) while 9% were not sure.

Can we then really expect the following findings to be any different:

5. Pastors are surprisingly vague about the biblical references they use to chart spiritual maturity for people.

One of the reasons churches struggle with making disciples may relate to the lack of clarity that pastors have about the underlying biblical passages that address the process of spiritual maturity. This is most clearly reflected in the huge proportion of pastors who give generic responses when asked to identify the most important portions of the Bible that define spiritual maturity. In fact, one-third of pastors simply said “the whole Bible.” Other generic responses included “the gospels” (17%), the New Testament (15%), and Paul’s letters (10%). In all, the survey showed that three-quarters of pastors mentioned some type of generic answer to this query. In addition, one out of every five pastors gave a semi-generic response, such as “Romans” or the “life of Christ.”

As for verse-specific responses (mentioned by just one-fifth of pastors), the most common passages included: Galatians 5, John 3:16, Ephesians 4, Matthew 28, and Romans 12:1-2. Just 2% of pastors specifically identified the Galatians 5 passage relating to the “fruits of the Spirit,” which includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. Theme specific answers represented just 7% of responses, including the Sermon on the Mount, the Great Commission, the Great Commandment, and the Beatitudes.⁷

The thing that is highlighted most prominently in both studies is the lack of Biblical knowledge and understanding — especially among Pastors. If pastors cannot properly identify spiritual maturity, how in the world are their congregations supposed to grow and be more spiritual? Simply put — they can’t. They are limited by the knowledge and understanding of the under-shepherds who are supposed to feed them.

It is amazing, yet it is not. The amazing part is that they continue to call themselves Christian, yet have little to no idea of what a Christian is, because they won’t read the Scriptures. One of the most important things a child of God must do, is read the Scriptures. This is not go read a book someone wrote about the Scriptures, but actually read the Scriptures themselves.

Why?

Because the Scriptures are the heart and mind of the LORD God toward man. In the 49^th Psalm, the 107^th Psalm, Isaiah, and many other places in Scripture, the heart of the LORD God toward man is plainly revealed, as it is here:

Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: Both low and high, rich and poor, together. My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp. Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?
They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:) That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption. (Psalm 49:1-9)

And here:

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Isaiah 55:1-11)

And again here:

Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? (Ezekiel 33:10-11)

Additionally, there are many other passages that speak to the very same thought and desire of the LORD God that every single soul be saved and reconciled to Him. The LORD God would that every person repent and believe in Christ as their Saviour.

In like manner, the LORD God has published the standard for spiritual maturity. However, if one never reads the Scripture or only reads their “pet” books, or their pastor only preaches from certain books, and on certain subjects, then what do we expect? I would certainly hope that we would not expect spiritual maturity to appear out of thin air and without extensive instruction and admonition from the Scripture. The LORD God has provided in Scripture both the standard for spiritual maturity, and how to get there. He expects us to read the Scripture, be taught by it, and walk in its instruction. It is amazing how very easy it is to find both the standard, and how to get there. In fact, the standard for spiritual maturity ought to be obvious:

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. (Romans 8:29)

Moreover, the LORD gave indicators and markers so that we could know and understand how we are to work toward that maturity in Christ:

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (II Peter 1:5-11)

And He expects all His children to work toward the end of being conformed to the image of Christ:

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.⁸And this will we do, if God permit. (Hebrews 6:1-3)

Knowing that the end of it all is charity, the love of God being continually expressed in everything we do:

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. (I Corinthians 13:4-13)

Understanding that the love spoken here is not the world’s kind of love, but the love of God in which we are rebuked, chastened, challenged and tried so that we may know of our witness and testimony, whether we are growing or not, and be reassured that we are indeed the children of God:

Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. (Hebrews 12:4-11)

The problem is, most American “Christians” are without any chastisement at all. Hence, they cannot grow and be spiritually mature. How can this be said? The proof is in the surveys referenced and quoted above. How can one be a Christian when one does not even believe what the Scripture, which is the word of God, states? And how can one be a Christian when one does not honor the LORD and His word? After all, it is plain in the Scripture how high a position of honor the LORD God gives His word:

I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. (Psalm 138:2)

Thus, spiritual maturity begins in the word of God — the Scripture. Without the message of the gospel from Scripture, salvation in Christ and subsequently staying in the Scripture and learning, no spiritual growth can or will occur. The problem with American “Christians” is not that they are not growing spiritually like they should. The problem is that the express conditions for spiritual growth are simply not there. It is no wonder they can’t “put a finger” on spiritual growth and how to achieve it.

1. http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/264-many-churchgoers-and-faith-leaders-stru
   ggle-to-define-spiritual-maturity↩
2. http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/260-most-american-christians-do-not-believe-
   that-satan-or-the-holy-spirit-exis↩
3. If you DO NOT accept this teaching and doctrine, you are NOT SAVED, and NOT a Christian — END OF STORY!↩
4. The same note applies here.↩
5. And the same applies here. Why? Because if Christ Jesus sinned, then he had his own sin to pay for, and could not pay for our sin. Secondly, if Jesus Christ could sin, then God could sin. If Jesus Christ did sin, then Jesus Christ, who is Almighty God in the flesh, is not Holy and Righteous, and thus God is not Holy and Righteous. And just what religion are these folks now?↩
6. Christian? Really?↩
7. There is not a one of these passages and verses mentioned that have to do with spiritual maturity. All the references given either apply to the church, or to attributes that are given to every believer at salvation. Spiritual growth is beyond just having attributes that you begin to use. Rather, it is about changing, not just the very way you act or your attitude, but your entire concept of existence, and the way you think about everything. In short, to be spiritually mature is to look at everything, including yourself, the way the LORD God knows everything to be, and letting that knowledge drive everything about your life.↩
8. You know, these really are the “first things.” Yet, how many truly born again believers actually get beyond these?↩

Here then, we have cause to ask, as Calvinism/Reformed theology raises the issue:

Were they born again, (regenerated) so that they might believe?

After all, Calvinist and Reformed theologians claim the following as true:

5) Calvinists do believe in man’s responsibility, but deny his ability to repent and believe the gospel. The two terms are not synonymous. Calvinists believe that man’s inability to repent and believe are caused by his own sin … not any positive imposition on God’s part.

14) Calvinists do believe that men can resist the Holy Spirit. They believe that even the elect can resist the Holy Spirit, and do – but only up to the time when the Spirit regenerates their heart so that resist Him no more. The non-elect effectively resist Him all their lives.

15) Calvinists do not believe that men are brought kicking and screaming irresistibly to Christ. We believe in irresistible grace. The will is not passed by in salvation. No man ever came to Christ unwillingly, or regretted that he had been brought.

19) Calvinists do believe that regeneration precedes faith in Christ. We do not confuse the term regeneration with that of justification or salvation. The Spirit of God regenerates the elect sinner enabling him to forsake the deadness of his sin and willingly embrace Christ and so be justified by faith and saved for eternity. Regeneration therefore is not synonymous with justification or salvation any more than conviction of sin is synonymous with conversion to Christ.¹

By the way, if you find the above points contradictory, you are not alone — they are contradictory to both the Scriptures and logic. There are only two places where the word “regeneration” appears in Scripture. One refers specifically to the new heavens and new earth, and the other is expressly addressing the new birth in salvation and being made righteous — born of the Holy Ghost.

And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Matthew 19:28)

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)

Hence, to arrive at the statement made in point 19 above, where it is stated:

We do not confuse the term regeneration with that of justification or salvation. The Spirit of God regenerates the elect sinner enabling him to forsake the deadness of his sin and willingly embrace Christ and so be justified by faith and saved for eternity. Regeneration therefore is not synonymous with justification or salvation any more than conviction of sin is synonymous with conversion to Christ.²

Is to specifically deny the meaning of the passage in Titus which states:

. . . but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; . . .

Here in Titus it is made quite plain — the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost are synonymous with salvation. The construct of the language and grammar permit no other conclusion. What it states in Titus is that in keeping with the mercy of God, we are saved through the means of the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Hence, if one is washed in regeneration and renewed by the Holy Ghost, then one is saved. Here we must also understand that “regeneration”³ and “renewing”⁴ mean the same thing.

Thus, to hold to the language of point 19 above, one MUST redefine the Scriptural meaning of the word “regeneration” to cause it to be less than salvation. Otherwise, though we might entertain the idea of regeneration before repentance and belief for some brief period, we cannot long hold the position as that doctrine generates a paradox and irresolvable conflict in Scripture. In fact, no statement in Scripture supports that doctrine, and number of statements contradict it:

Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. (Galatians 3:6)

Since this verse is a quote from Genesis, we would be benefited by looking to see how the original was worded:

And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:4-6)

Here we see plainly in both the original and the quote that Abraham was counted righteous after he believed. He was not made righteous so he could believe. We find additional Scriptures that specifically support this in numerous places. In the following two passages we see that repentance precedes belief:

For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him. (Matthew 21:32)

Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. (Mark 1:14-15)

And here we see that believing precedes salvation (or regeneration):

Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. (Luke 8:12)

And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. (Romans 4:19-25)

Thus, under Calvinist/Reformed doctrine the following passage becomes extremely problematic:

But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Matthew 9:13, See also Mark 2:17, Luke 5:32)

Here, by the direct statement of the Lord Jesus Christ, we find that the call to repentance is for sinners ONLY, not for any of the righteous. Thus, if you are made righteous (born-again/regenerated) so you CAN believe, then you are righteous WITHOUT believing (even for an instant, as you would be since time doesn’t stand still), and thus you now fall OUTSIDE the scope of the call of the Lord Jesus Christ as you now have NO NEED of repentance, NO NEED of belief – you are righteous WITHOUT REPENTANCE OR BELIEF. This leads to the following questions for the adherent of Calvinist/Reformed theology:

1. If one is regenerated/born again, what is the point of bothering with faith, repentance and belief then?
2. Why doesn’t God just “make everybody believe” and have done with it?
3. What is the point of picking and choosing to send some to Heaven and some to Hell?
4. Does God play games?

Are there valid answers to those questions in Calvinist/Reformed theology? Not likely, as they like to claim the following:

25) There is a difference between a paradox and a contradiction. We know that God is sovereign, yet man is free to follow the dictates of his own will. Where the two lines meet is not for us to say. Calvinist ignorance on the matter is to be excused on the basis of Deuteronomy 29:29

Never mind that “where the lines meet” is explained rather well in John 1:12-13, where it is explained that it is man’s responsibility to exercise the faith granted, as it is also man’s responsibility to exercise repentance and belief. It is the LORD’s responsibility to create a new creature in Christ Jesus when one believes. We see these things in order when it states:

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)

In continuing the examination of the passage which Aaron claimed supported “unconditional, sovereign election” we find that there are actually conditions placed on the election addressed in verse 13 by the phrases in verse 12. There are three phrases in verse 12, which is the superior clause, that set forth specific conditions for one to be “born of God”:

• But as many as received him, (faith)
• to them gave he power to become the sons of God, (repentance)
• even to them that believe on his name: (belief)

To be continued . . .

1. http://www.oldtruth.com/calvinism/avoidingconfusion.html↩
2. Ibid↩
3. 3824 paliggenesia {pal-ing-ghen-es-ee’-ah} from 3825 and 1078; TDNT – 1:686,117;
   n f AV – regeneration 2; 2 GK – 4098 { παλιγγενεσία } & 4100 { παλινγενεσία }
   1) new birth, reproduction, renewal, recreation, regeneration
   1a) hence renovation, regeneration, the production of a new life consecrated to God, a radical change of mind for the better. The word often used to denote the restoration of a thing to its pristine state, its renovation, as a renewal or restoration of life after death
   1b) the renovation of the earth after the deluge
   1c) the renewal of the world to take place after its destruction by fire, as the Stoics taught
   1d) the signal and glorious change of all things (in heaven and earth) for the better, that restoration of the primal and perfect condition of things which existed before the fall of our first parents, which the Jews looked for in connection with the advent of the Messiah, and which Christians expected in connection with the visible return of Jesus from heaven.
   1e) other uses
   1e1) of Cicero’s restoration to rank and fortune on his recall from exile
   1e2) of the restoration of the Jewish nation after exile
   1e3) of the recovery of knowledge by recollection

   Strong, James. The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible : Showing Every Word of the Test of the Common English Version of the Canonical Books, and Every Occurence of Each Word in Regular Order. Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship.↩

4. 342 anakainosis {an-ak-ah’-ee-no-sis} from 341; TDNT – 3:453,388;
   n f AV – renewing 2; 2 GK – 364 { ἀνακαίνωσις }
   1) a renewal, renovation, complete change for the better

   Strong, James. The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible : Showing Every Word of the Test of the Common English Version of the Canonical Books, and Every Occurence of Each Word in Regular Order. Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship.↩

One of the things we should note about the Westboro articles, is the use of “pet” verses to “prove” their point without bothering to consult the entirety of Scripture. This is not a new tactic, and I have observed to many times. The supporters of false doctrines do this because of one of two reasons:

A. They are truly ignorant of what the rest of Scripture does declare, and consequently do not include verses that set aside the doctrine they are attempting to support.

B. They actually do know that verses contradicting their doctrine exist, and they refuse to include them and explain them as they know the explanation cannot stand the light of scrutiny.

Hence, we observe their use of the verse from Acts 13:48, where the Gentiles believed the gospel when the apostle Paul preached it at Antioch in Pisidia:

Furthermore, the only people who can believe are the ones whom God has ordained to eternal life. “And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.” Acts 13:48.¹

However, that verse sits in a passage that states the following:

And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath. Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. (Acts 13:42-48)

If we note, just prior to the statement about Gentiles being ordained to eternal life, another statement is made by Paul and Barnabas, to wit:

Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. (Acts 13:46)

Now, it must be asked (because surely the Atheist will ask it): Isn’t it contradictory to say that the Jews judged themselves unworthy of eternal life, but God ordained the Gentiles to eternal life, particularly when II Peter 3:9 states that the LORD would have all men come to repentance? Moreover, that I Timothy 2:4 seems to agree with II Peter 3:9, but disagrees with Acts 13:48, and appears to be entirely contradictory in that regard — why then should we believe the Bible?

They have a point, and it must be answered. However, answering it cannot be with the trite phrase “It’s a mystery.” and let it go at that. Nor can it be answered by inserting words into the passages of I Timothy 2:4 and II Peter 3:9 and ignoring Acts 13:46 as if it will go away of its own accord. No, the instant you state the long rigamarole that the general epistles of Peter were to believers, and the epistle to Timothy was to a preacher, and thus the context is believers only . . . it is revealed that the true answer is being obscured and the Atheist will cease to listen. Why? Because that answer ignores the fact that a letter to anyone can contain several contexts, some or all of which would be familiar to the reader.

For instance, if I have a friend who is a believer (and I have several) and he happens to own a piece of property in which I desire legal permission to access, and my letter addresses that issue, then irrespective of the fact that my friend is a believer, the context of the letter is the property and my desire for legal access to it. For someone to come along 200 hundred years later and examine the letter, and then declare that the request for legal access was predicated upon the fact that my friend was a believer and thus that is the frame of the letter, is to read into the letter a context that is not there. Irrespective of the fact that my friend happens to be a believer, I desire legal access to a piece of property that he happens to own — and that is all. I could write the very same letter to a different friend who happened to be agnostic, asking the very same favor of legal access to property he happens to own. Hence, the context is defined by the subject(s) addressed in the letter, not by the beliefs of the person to whom I send it.

What I have described above (determining the context of an epistle by looking at the addressee) is one of the most misused methods of “interpretation” of Scripture by those who routinely distort Scripture to support their own perverse doctrines that cannot be reconciled to the rest of Scripture. Now, to be certain, the addressee of a letter does have bearing on the contents of the letter. However, the contents of the letter have a context all their own, irrespective of the addressee, and are only affected by the level of knowledge and understanding of the addressee. Thus, we must look to the various subjects addressed in the Epistles, the knowledge and understanding of the recipients of the Epistles, and how the writers of those several letters approached the various subjects broached to determine the true context of any passage we wish to study and use for doctrinal support. In short, we have to be careful and rightly divide the word of God, ever understanding that no passage in and of itself creates or establishes a doctrine. Rather, in Scripture all doctrines that are proper and correct are supported multiple times throughout Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments.

Now, there is also one additional point to consider when comparing Scripture with Scripture to determine whether a doctrine is actually correct. That is: the context of the passages compared must be the same. This would seem to be a common sense rule, but it is frequently ignored and/or misused. If the context of one passage is spiritual, and another passage physical, even if they say the very same thing, one cannot be used to support the other. If we violate this rule, we will, sooner rather than later, come up with a doctrine that is in no way Scriptural, and runs contrary to the whole tone and thrust of the Scripture itself. This is not to say that we will not find that there exists a certain continuity between the physical and the spiritual, it is only to make expressly clear the principle contained in what the Lord Jesus Christ told Nicodemus:

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:6)

Hence, that which applies to the spiritual, does not apply to the physical, and vice-versa. We must understand that the physical, which came out of the spiritual, is only a limited type and shadow of the real world, which is the spiritual.

All that being stated, let us go back now and begin to address the passage of Acts 13:48 in which it is recorded:

And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. (Acts 13:48)

Now, on its face, this seems to support the contention of the folks at Westboro Baptist Church and is commonly used by Calvinists also in supporting their argument of predestination. However, we are expressly told that no scripture is of any private interpretation in II Peter 1:20, and that is a hard and fast rule. After all, as an aside (but still germane to the discussion) I could quote Daniel 12:2 which states:

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2)

and turn around and claim that the Scripture supports the doctrine of “soul sleep” which is a Seventh Day Adventist doctrine. Of course, they do use this very passage to support their contention, all the while ignoring numerous other passages in Scripture that flatly contradict the idea of “soul sleep.”

What am I saying here? Simply this: If we are going to lean upon “pet” passages and private interpretations of Scripture to support doctrine, then we have to allow that everyone else who does so must be correct as well in their doctrines — even if it flatly contradicts ours. Why? To be succinct: what’s good for the goose — is good for the gander. Otherwise, we are nothing more than elitist hypocrites.

Now then, let us go back and begin to examine the passage of Acts 13:48, but we will do so by including Romans 9:11-13, which seems to contain the same idea.

To be continued . . .

1. The John 3:16 Arminian Lie Laid Bare↩