Hear Ye The Rod! Judgment’s Voice
“…Hear Ye The Rod…”
“The LORD’S voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.”
(Micah 6:9)
In Micah 6:6-9 the Lord has a controversy with
Ignorance
Not ignorance in general, I’m talking about willful ignorance… being stupid on purpose. People don’t like it when you say this or that is God’s judgment.
You want controversy? Just say Katrina was the judgment of God or tell people Haiti’s earthquake was the judgment of Almighty God. If you really want to stir them up, say that AIDS is God’s judgment on sodomites.
That’s when people tell you what they really think. Oh, “You’re not very Christlike… Jesus preached love… Jesus said you shouldn’t judge… He said let him that is without sin cast the first stone…” and all that other stuff liberal Devils love to twist and take out of context. (See picture to right)
But even they have to admit, whether you’re talking about AIDS, whether you’re talking about 9/11 or some natural disaster, God still knew about it before it happened… He knew who would get hurt; He knew how many people would die; but He let it happen anyway!
God rules and overrules in the affairs of men and there’s not a tragedy in this world that has ever taken Him by surprise. In fact I believe He does things to shake us up every now and then… get us out of our comfort zone. “Hear ye the rod!“
The purpose of a rod is to bring the pain. It’s got no mouth but it speaks volumes. Let me illustrate. My nephew is a great kid but he can be every bit as stubborn as his uncle Jason. Mom can say, “Seth, stop that…” But he won’t pay her a bit of attention. She can say, “Stop that or I’ll call your dad…” and he’ll probably hand her the phone.
But when he hears Papa’s belt unbuckle and that pap-pap-pap sound it makes coming out of the belt loops… son, does he ever get cooperative! He knows he’s sinned and he’s real anxious to get it right. He hears the rod! And because he hears it, he might not have to feel it.
The problem we have in this country is the same problem Israel had. We FEEL the rod but we don’t HEAR it. “For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts.” (Isaiah 9:13)
….MORE TO COME….
Praying For A New Tongue?
Praying For A New Tongue?
Most Folks Can’t Handle The One They’ve Got!
When a prophet named Balaam was headed somewhere the Lord didn’t want him to go God sent an angel to block his way. The beast on which Balaam rode was apparently more sensitive to spiritual things than he was. Because the animal kept turning out of the way to avoid the angel, Balaam became frustrated and started beating her.
“And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?” (Num 22:28)
Notice first of all (1) something is speaking that shouldn’t be. 2Peter 2:16 says this “dumb (mute) ass” was speaking “with a man’s voice.” This is not the 1st time you find an animal speaking in the Bible (the serpent spoke to Eve in the Garden) but this is interesting. Notice also, Balaam’s ass was a ‘she’. In the average charismatic church, I’d say, women do 90% of the tongues speaking. Paul was dealing expressly with the gift of tongues when the Holy Ghost moved him to write:
“Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.” (1Co 14:34-35)
Paul knew it was the will of God for the “women to keep silence in the churches” when it came to the matter of tongues. But Paul was also a realist. He knew that people do not like being told what they can and can’t do. Paul knew that later on liberal scholars would rise up out of the crevices of Hell and downplay what he had just written. Accordingly, some argue that the prohibition against women speaking in tongues here in 1Corinthians 14 and the qualifications of a pastor in 1Timothy 3 are all just Paul’s “opinion.” Paul anticipated all of this and wrote verse 37 for everyone who tries to justify their charismatic grandma or one of their friends who happens to be a woman preacher. In an almost sarcastic manner, he says:
“If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.” (1Co 14:37) 
Paul knew many folks don’t care what the Bible says. So he writes in verse 38: “But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.” (1Co 14:38)
Secondly, (2) this unnatural behaviour didn’t appear strange to Balaam. Any sane person would have found this event beyond bizarre. But remember, Balaam is not right with God. People who are out of fellowship with the Lord are frequently and strangely comfortable in unusual circumstances. For instance, when Jonah was running from God, the Lord sent a storm that nearly destroyed the ship he was in. The heathen sailors were calling on every god they could think of! (It’s just natural to pray when you’re going thru a storm.) “…But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.” (Jon 1:5) In his backslid condition Jonah seemed immune to his problematic surroundings. If you have the slightest knowledge of the Bible you should know the Holy Ghost won’t make you act like a complete fool. If you see nothing wrong with men and women foaming at the mouth and babbling on like idiots, then there’s something wrong with you (you’re spiritually retarded).
The Mosaic Law demanded that God’s people (the Jews) abstain from unclean meats. Many of the Jews continued to observe these dietary laws even after they were converted. They did this more out of habit than necessity. But, in their defense, there was no verse in the Old Testament that said, “After you become a Christian you can eat whatever you want.” So in their minds, certain things like pork were still taboo. When Gentiles started getting saved, because of their eating habits, many of the believing Jews were uncertain whether or not they should fellowship with them. (It was hard for them to believe God would bless someone who ate bacon.) On one occasion, because of this mindset, God revealed to the Jewish companions of Peter that He did indeed pour out His spirit upon Jew and Gentile alike.
“While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,” (Ac 10:44-46)
Again the Bible says they spoke with “tongues” (plural) and not with an “unknown tongue” (singular). Tongues were necessary since, as 1Cor 1:22 says, “The Jews require a sign.” Until the New Testament scriptures were complete, the sign gifts were necessary for unbelieving Jews. Mark 16:20 indicates the Apostles had been commissioned to confirm (authenticate, backup, or validate) the Gospel with signs. The purpose of tongues was to confirm that God had indeed stretched out His saving arm to the Gentiles.
The word ‘tongue’ in Scripture refers to either: a language or an actual part of the body known as the tongue. As far as the Bible is concerned, the gift of tongues was the supernatural ability to speak in a language not previously learned. For instance if I was suddenly endowed by God with the ability to speak and understand Japanese, that would be similar to the gift on Pentecost. 1Corinthians 14 gives instruction concerning the utilization of this gift. Many of these rules are violated and completely disregarded in charismatic circles. However, the utter confusion, which “they” refer to as ‘speaking in tongues,’ is NOT that gift described in the Bible. Tongues, such as in Acts 2 and 10, were known languages and not ecstatic, unintelligible, gibberish.
Some say that “speaking in tongues” is evidence of being filled with the Holy Ghost. Some go even further, saying that you’re not even saved if you don’t speak in tongues. I strongly disagree. Take Jesus for example. Can you think of anyone more sanctified and Holy than the Lord Jesus Christ? None would ever accuse Him of not being Spirit filled. Yet in my Bible, I never find a single instance where Jesus ever spoke in tongues. If “tongues” is the evidence of having the “baptism of the Holy Ghost“, why did the Lord not leave us that example in His life as He did with water baptism and communion? Moving on…
“For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.” (1Cor 4:2)
The word “spirit“ in this verse is lowercase. It refers to our spirit and not God’s Holy Spirit. Notice, the word “unknown’ here is italicized, and the word ‘tongue’ is singular. ‘Unknown tongue’ refers to any language not understood by others. We are told not to forbid people to speak with ‘tongues’ (plural) in 1Cor 14:39. However, the Bible does NOT say “Forbid not to speak in the unknown tongue” (singular) this is Bible Doctrine, not merely my opinion.
And as Forest Gump once said, “That’s all I got to say about that.”
“Where was God when my boy died?”
A year or two ago a young couple lost their two-month-old son. They had him in bed with them and one of them must have rolled over on him in the night because when they woke up in the morning their beautiful baby boy was dead. A pastor friend of mine and I went over to their house that night. You talk about heartache! The boy’s daddy, a young fella, kept wallowing in the floor saying “God is judging me – God is judging me!” The pastor was trying to show them some scriptures when the mother blurted out: “I just don’t see how there can be a God.”And before you criticize her, you just wait till you wake up beside your dead baby.
I said “Ma’am my heart goes out to you – I won’t try to say I know what you’re going through because I don’t. But I was reading a story this afternoon about a lady who had lost her baby boy too. She went to her pastor and said “Where was God when my boy died?”
He was stunned by the question like we all would be but he thought for a moment and said “Ma’am, God was in the same place He was when His Son died 2000 years ago.” And I’m telling you there’s a God in heaven that knows what it’s like to lose a baby boy. He knows what it’s like to lose a loved one and He can sympathize with your pain.
On top of that, I believe the grace of God takes care of little children and that baby’s in Heaven right now. And if mama and daddy are Christians – they might have to spend 40, 50, or even 60 years apart from their child and I know that sounds like such a long time. But looking back, 10,000 years from now, it won’t seem like that long at all.
Fags
Fags
“THOU SHALT NOT lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.” Leviticus 18:22-25
G.A.Y. = "Got AIDS Yet?"
I believe the up and coming generation needs to know, that men of God hold these individuals in derision. They need to know what a terrible abomination this is in the eyes of God. I detest being around Sodomites; they make me uncomfortable. I don’t like Chihuahuas. I just don’t like anything sissy!
There are many slang terms used to indicate a sodomite: fag, queer, fairy, etc. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary does not even contain the word ‘Homosexual’. But it does define Sodomite as: (1) An inhabitant of Sodom or (2) One guilty of sodomy. Since the term “sodomite” is used, even after Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, definition one need not be considered.
Furthermore, sodomy is defined as ‘a crime against nature!’ Sodomy not only makes God sick, but Scripture implies that the land vomits at its very presence! “And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.” (Lev 18:25) Is it any wonder that California often convulses as would a man with upset stomach? Why does the land vomit? Because sodomy is a crime against nature!
When one attempts to defy the law of gravity by jumping off a cliff, they suffer the consequences. When two men get together and try to do what only man and wife were designed to do, they too will suffer the consequences.
Whether or not AIDS is God’s judgment on the sin of homosexuality I do not know. However, I am sure God is aware of the CDC’s recent statistics. On table 22 of their website the following information is available. Of white men with AIDS in the United States, it is estimated that 76% were men who have sex with men. Furthermore, add that to the 10% of men who have sex with men and inject drugs.
In the Bible, we have God’s disclosure of His will. Within the pages of Scripture we may peer into the mind of an Omnipotent God. In the Bible we are warned, “Be not deceived!” Could it be that some well-meaning ‘Christians’ are deceived? A person is deceived when they see nothing wrong with two men getting married, or two women having sex. Even with this sinful lifestyle becoming more and more tolerated, God still calls it an ‘abomination’ (Le 20:13). Nevertheless, “God is not mocked!”
Is AIDS God’s judgment on the perverts of America? Probably! The reality that God has not already rained down fire and brimstone on our darling nation proves that He is a loving God, and not that he condones a tainted standard of living.
Alongside I-85, a billboard advocating tolerance of sodomy says, “Gay or straight…All…equal.” This is of course a reference to the Declaration of Independence. However, it is interesting to note, they left out ‘created’ equal on their little sign! While I would partially agree with our founding fathers that all men are created equal, I would argue that all men do not remain that way!
All men are born into sin. You need not teach a baby to lie, it will learn on its own. That is natural. Children must be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the lord, because sin comes naturally to all. When an attractive yet scantily clothed woman walks by, a man’s ‘natural’ instinct is to look and lust after her. That’s natural, but that doesn’t make it right! Even if sodomites are ‘born that way,’ and even if they don’t have the slightest affection for the opposite sex; that still does not excuse what God calls an abomination!
Despite arguments to the contrary, the sin of sodomy is far from natural! As mentioned before, Webster defines sodomy as a ‘crime against nature!’ Romans 1:26 refers to it as “That which is against nature.” Vs. 27 says it’s an “…Error…” and “…Unseemly…” Vs. 28, Paul said these people “…do those things which are not convenient.” And, finally in Vs. 31 they’re “…without natural affection.”
In 2nd Kings 23:7, the Bible says Josiah “…Brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD…” - In Josiah’s time, the Sodomites had come out of the closet and settled down right beside the Church. And today we see the same thing happening! Perverts, no longer want merely to be left alone, they want to be accepted. They’re not concerned with simply being tolerated anymore; they want us to embrace their perverted lifestyle. I don’t care if they move in beside the parsonage and paint the house pink. I’ll point next door and tell my children, ‘Those people are wicked as Hell!’
You can’t show me a single instance where Jesus ever witnessed to a sodomite or a lesbian. In all 66 books, God never sent the homosexuals a prophet. But before you accuse me of being unloving: I have witnessed to several of them before. I’m just saying that I’m not planning on going into “fag evangelism.” Can you imagine setting up a rainbow-colored tent at all of the rest areas? I can’t fathom it but I do witness to them. Have you ever witnessed to one? By that I mean, have you ever showed them from the Scriptures that they’re at enmity with God and must needs repent or perish? Have you ever done that for anybody?
Abortion: I’m Against It
ABORTION
&
Why I’m Against It
Burned by the saline solution used to abort her, this precious 4-½ month (2nd trimester) old baby girl lies dead. Slaughtered and chemically cooked alive at the hands of a money hungry, Godless, doctor.
Does the new Health care bill provide funding for abortion at the expense of taxpayers? The answer would have to be “Yes” regardless of what promises Obama made to Bart Stupak. If you’ve not read the bill yet (who has?) you can find a copy of it here.
On pg. 591 it appears they are going to use tax dollars to give “postpartum” counseling to women who abort their babies. I mean, that’s what it looks like to me. The dad blame thing is over 2000 pages long and there could be something amending that language but, that’s how I read it. These people are sick in the head. They’re going to make us pay to kill babies then provide counseling if the woman feels bad about it! Talk about adding insult to injury!
Abortion is wicked and “God is angry with the wicked every day.” “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood…”
(Read the rest of the passage for yourself. I’m going to park on that last point.)
More than 42 million unborn babies have lost their lives since the US Supreme Court decided on January 22, 1973, that women have a constitutionally protected right to have an abortion On average, 3,836 pre-born babies have been routinely eliminated every day for thirty years. That means since 1973, unwanted babies have had their lives ended at an average rate of 2.5 per minute, 160 per hour, and 1,400,000 a year.
To those that claim the name of Christ, don’t even pretend to care about this issue unless you are registered to vote. If you’re not doing everything you can to get these bunch of fag-loving baby-killers out of office, you should be ashamed to call yourself a Christian.
WOULD YOU CONSIDER HAVING AN ABORTION IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SITUATIONS?
- There’s a preacher and wife who are very, very poor. They already have 14 children, and now she finds out she’s pregnant with the 15TH. They’re living in tremendous poverty. Considering their poverty and the excessive world population, would you consider recommending an abortion?
- The father is sick with a bad cold; the mother has tuberculosis (TB). They have 4 children. The 1st is blind, the 2nd is dead, the 3rd is deaf, and the 4th has TB. She finds out that she’s pregnant again. Given this extreme situation, would you consider recommending an abortion?
- A white man has raped a 13-year-old black girl, and she became pregnant. If you were her parents, would you consider an abortion?
- A teenage girl is pregnant. She’s engaged but her fiancé is not the father and now he’s thinking about calling off the marriage.
Would you consider an abortion under any of these circumstances? If you said yes to the first case, you just killed John Wesley, one of the greatest evangelists of the nineteenth century. If you said yes to the second case, you killed Ludwig van Beethoven. If you said yes to the third case, you killed Ethel Waters, the great black gospel singer. And, if you said yes to the fourth case, you killed Jesus Christ.
Closing Remarks
In conclusion, if you are a woman who’s had an abortion, as horrible as it is, God still wants to forgive you. If you’re not saved, there’s a God in Heaven Who’s not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Two thousand years ago, God sent His only-begotten Son down to this sin-cursed world we live in. He didn’t come to be worshipped necessarily; He came to be a sacrifice for all mankind. After all, someone has to pay for your sins. That’s why Christ died. He died in our place, suffered our shame, and bore our sins. If you reject Christ’s offer to put your sins under His blood and hide them from Holy eyes of our God, you will spend eternity in Hell. How do you come to Christ? You come with a simple, child-like faith. “Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Find out what God’s Word says, then call on God the best way you know how – Repent of your sins – and put your faith in what Jesus did on the cross! (2Cor 5:21) After you get saved, join a local, Independent, fundamental, Bible believing, King-James-only, soul winning, Baptist Church. I highly recommend my home Church: Tabernacle Baptist
Jails to Jesus
MY TESTIMONY
By: Jason W. Elder
My name is Jason Elder and on October 29th 1980 I was born right here in Gaffney South Carolina. I know many people who blame their shortcomings on their parents but I can’t do that. I have some of the best parents in the world. My dad was a Highway Patrolman for 14 years and then the Chief of Police in Blacksburg for several more. My mom worked at Hamrick’s for a number of years and currently runs her own business.
My mom brought me to church a lot when I was younger. I went forward after service once and talked to the pastor about getting “baptized.” We prayed a prayer and I was baptized not long afterward. I’m sure he did everything he could to point me in the right direction but looking back, I just didn’t get it.
Yes, in the beginning I had an interest in church like never before, but it just didn’t last. The whole experience reminds me of the parable Jesus told about the seed that fell on stony ground. It was so quick to spring up but when the Sun was risen it withered away just as quickly because it had no root.[1]
I’ve always been an introvert and shy by nature but that was okay with me. I didn’t really care what other people thought about me anyhow. In fact, I didn’t even start combing my hair until seventh grade. But as a teenager I became more and more concerned with what people thought of me.
Truth be known, that’s probably the biggest appeal drugs and alcohol had for me: they took away my inhibitions.
The first time I ever smoked marijuana was in the 10th grade. And while I liked getting high, I didn’t like the smell of it. If any of you ever been around someone smoking pot (and some of you look like you have) it has a very strong odor and knowing I had to come home to a house full of cops that always made me a little bit paranoid. Just by walking through the door I was subjecting myself to a sobriety test. I guess that’s why started messing around with pills: Xanax, Lortab, methadone etc. I even started selling a few here and there. It started out being just for fun but pretty soon I was addicted not just to the pills but to the lifestyle of a drug dealer.
I kinda liked it when people would notice that my beeper was blowing up. I was hanging out with some of the most popular kids in school. I knew they really didn’t care a thing about me, but hey, everybody likes to feel needed.
Around my senior year in high school a young man brought me a sample of something his dad had cooked up at home called meth.
I didn’t know it at the time, but he’d just introduced me to something 10 times worse than all the pills I’d ever taken. By the end of that summer I was using every day: smoking, snorting, and even shooting it up. After I got in good with the cook I started selling it but unlike the pills I sold just for the heck of it, I was selling meth to support my own habit. I can’t tell you how many hundreds of dollars worth of powder I went through but I gave Johnson & Johnson a run for their money. That’s just what I used, God only knows how much I sold.
But all that “fun” took me to the same place most junkies find themselves…jail! I was facing Federal and local charges and my life was in a mess. Sometime during this process I picked up a Bible and read through it in less than 8 weeks. I couldn’t believe it was actually interesting! When I was released, I was placed on house arrest. The Federal Government thought so much of me they gave me a cute little ankle bracelet to wear! For six months I was allowed to go to church only once on Sunday morning. I could go to all the Narcotics Anonymous meetings I wanted to, but Church only once a week.
The church my family was going to at the time was a cold, dead, liberal, Southern Baptist Church (as the picture represents). The pastor was a Calvinist and it showed in his preaching. I thought if this is all Church has to offer I’d be better off not going.
But then, one of my friends overdosed on painkillers. Michael Williams laid in a coma for about week and died just after Christmas. Still on the ankle monitor I went to the funeral home where they were receiving friends. Among the mourners I spotted a familiar older gentleman in the crowd, it was Pastor Lewis Batchelor from Open Door Baptist Church.
Several years prior, I had dated a girl that attended his church. As two lost young teenagers, one day, we were sitting on the second pew from the front. We were holding hands and passing little notes to each other. We didn’t have a care in the world. But all that would soon end! Before I could get my thoughts together, in front of God and everybody, that old gray-haired man came out from behind the pulpit, jumped off the platform, straddled the pew in front of us, looked me dead in the eyes, and said, “Are you saved son?” Before I could get the lump out of my throat, he looked down and saw we were holding hands. He physically separated our hands that day and after scolding us both for being too close for his liking, he briefly lectured the young lady why she should never date anyone that’s lost. I didn’t have enough hide left to close my eyes! But even as a lost teenager I appreciated someone that had enough guts to tell me what was right!
Anyway, at the funeral, I talked to Pastor Batchelor briefly then spoke with Michael’s dad and step-mom. I was doing a good job at keeping back the tears, but I couldn’t do it much longer. I left off talking with his parents and headed for the door. But somebody stopped me before I left!
It was Preacher Batchelor! 
When I broke down weeping he hugged me and tried to comfort me. I don’t remember what he said to me, I just remember he was there when I needed him. When Sunday rolled around, I started thinking about that little old church on the other side of town. I remembered the friendly people and the plain preaching. I literally begged my mom and dad to take me to Open Door Baptist Church. I don’t remember whether mom or dad went with me. All I remember is how happy everyone was that I came.
For six months I went to Church every Sunday morning but one. I was saved, born again, on a Wednesday night in March 2001. Not long after that, my dad got saved! We were both baptized on Easter Sunday! I was so overwhelmed by the grace of God that brought me salvation that I took all my ambitions, my plans, and my life and with joy placed them at the Master’s disposal.
Much has transpired since that day. The Lord has been so good that I cannot possibly list all the blessings He has sent my way. I only wish to encourage you not to give up hope on a loved one or friend who may be struggling with the same things I did. There’s a God in heaven Who specializes in lost causes. If He can save me He can save anybody.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2Cor 5:17)
Jason W. Elder
Assistant Pastor
Gaffney SC
[1] “And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.” (Mark 4:5-6)
Spiritual Guidance Illustrations
Spiritual Guidance
Knowing Where You’re Going
An evangelist told the story of a time when Albert Einstein was going on a train to an out-of-town engagement. The conductor stopped by to punch his ticket. The great scientist, preoccupied with his work, with great embarrassment rummaged through his coat pockets and briefcase to no avail. He could not find his ticket. The conductor said, “We all know who you are, Dr. Einstein. I’m sure you bought a ticket. Don’t worry about it. Everything is okay.” The conductor walked on down the aisle punching other tickets. Before he moved to the next car, he looked back and saw Dr. Einstein down on his hands and knees looking under his seat trying to find his ticket. He came back and gently said, “Dr. Einstein, please don’t worry about it. I know who you are.” Einstein looked up and said, “I too know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going!”[i]
Bound For Where?
Rob Yeomans of Pontesbury, England, bounced up and down trying to get more life into the choir’s rendering of “I Wonder Where I’m Bound.” The iron grid gave way under him and he vanished into the church’s central heating duct. [ii]
[i] Citation: Greg Asimakoupoulos, author and speaker, Naperville, Illinois; source: John A. Huffman Jr., pastor of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Newport Beach, California, from sermon “Resurrection Life” (June 23, 2000)
[ii] Paul Lee Tan
THE KING JAMES BIBLE – The Word of The King
“Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed. I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God. Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?” (Eccl 8:1-4)
There are many things in life that we can’t be sure of, but there’s one place you can go to and rejoice in the fact that every verse, every chapter, every jot and every tittle is pure, unadulterated, Truth! (I know we don’t have jots and tittles in English, but the chapter divisions and italicized words don’t even bother me). And that, my friends, is the King James Bible. I’m not a Greek scholar; I’m not an intellectual by any stretch of the imagination. My goal tonight is not to woo you or charm you with my wisdom. I have a simple mind and a simple faith. But though my faith is simple, it’s sure and steadfast. And that’s because men of God filled with the Spirit of God have taken the Word of God and taught me the things of God.
Verse 4 is my text verse tonight: “Where the word of a king is, there is power…”
Why do we make such a big deal out of the KJB? What’s the big deal about which Bible you use? The most common cop-out I hear is, “Well, my pastor uses such-and-such Bible, so that’s the one I use.” Can I tell you something? That’s the reason why there are so many cults in the world! I believe you should respect the preacher, but the reason so many people are in Hell today is because they listened to what man said and not what God said! Well, I don’t want you to take my word for it; I want to motivate you to do your own study. After all, ignorance will be no excuse at the judgment seat of Christ!
FIRST OF ALL DIFFERENT VERSIONS ARE DIFFERENT:
Scholars criticize the King James only crowd. They try to make us out to be retards and overcritical for knit picking or harping on a few words these modern translations change or leave out People talking about the different versions say, “Well, it says the same thing, just in a different way.” But can you imagine changing one word in the Constitution? Instead of “We the People of the…” What if it read, “We White People of the…”
What if we omitted one word from our First Amendment?
Instead of “Congress shall make NO law…” It would be “Congress shall make law respecting an establishment of religion…
What about our Second Amendment?
Instead of “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” What if we changed that to: “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be allowed.” I think it’s obvious that different versions of the Bible say different things, use different words.
SECONDLY, THE KJB ISSUE AFFECTS YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN:
Fruitland Seminary (rhymes with cemetery) has been touted as one of the Southern Baptist Convention’s most conservative schools. (And I’m going to get on Independent Baptist Colleges here in a minute so hold on.) But a young man named Phillip Luther started school at Tabernacle this year (2005?). He had gone to Fruitland the year before and the first thing (I believe it was) his Theology teacher handed out was a sheet of paper titled: “REASONS THE KING JAMES VERSION IS NOT THE BEST TRANSLATION.” His teacher’s name was Dr. Carlisle Sanford. I mention his name because I hope somebody tells him I said he is a LIAR and he’ll give an account one day for misleading those young men and women. Jesus said it’d be better for you to drown like Lacy Peterson, with a millstone around your neck, than to offend one of His little children.
Dr. Sanford’s 1st Lie: “INCREASED KNOWLEDGE OVER THE LAST 400 YEARS CONCERNING THE BIBLICAL WORLD AND THE ORIGINAL HEBREW AND GREEK TEXTS HAVE RENDERED MANY OF THE KJV RENDERINGS OBSOLETE.”
First of all, he’s never seen the “original” Hebrew or Greek because they don’t exist. (So, if “the original Hebrew and Greek texts” are his final authority – then he has no final authority – he has no Bible.) But we do have copies of copies of the original autographs. And 85% of the over 5,000 extant (existing) Mss fall into the Received Text (Textus Receptus) category. In other words, the King James Bible and the Text that underlies it, is supported by more manuscripts (that actually exist), than any modern version that was ever burped up out of Hell.
But I think we’re missing the big picture here! Daddy always told me “Son, follow the money!” The King James Bible isn’t copyrighted and these big publishing companies can’t make any money off it. So they come out with a new version. And when the copyright runs out on their new versions, they come out with a New, New Version. I’m telling you, they’re greedy, of filthy lucre. I Believe I’ll Stay With The Old Time Way. I just like it! I’m not picking up nothing else – if for no other reason – I’m not about to learn John 3:16 all over again.
I realize that the New Testament was written in Greek. But, if Jesus had spoken perfect King James English it wouldn’t add to my faith one bit. God has preserved His Words in English. And if you have a King James Bible, you have a copy of the very Words of God. I do not believe it lost anything in translation and I certainly don’t believe we need another version.
If we laid all the Bible experts end to end they’d still never reach a conclusion. Nothing is wrong studying Greek and Hebrew but I do get upset when a man starts “correcting” my Book. I feel like Billy Sunday, he said “When the latest scholarship says one thing and the Word of God another, the latest scholarship can go plumb to Hell for all I care!” We fuss at Charismatics for speaking in tongues but the average Baptist preacher refers back to the Greek so much, the sign outside might as well say ‘Pentecostal’. And the truth is 99.9% of them couldn’t carry on a conversation in Modern Greek if their lives depended on it. You know they’re just quoting what some egg sucking, pencil pushing, “scholar” says anyhow. But without fail, Sunday after Sunday, congregations are oohed and ahhed by their pastor’s “knowledge” of the Biblical languages!
Nowadays, seems like every time I turn around they’re coming out with a new Bible of some kind! But after 600+ Bibles in the English language – do we really need another one? I could understand if there were 5 or 6 or maybe even 10 or 20 different English Bibles – but 600? You would have to be a fool to believe that every 1.4 years the English language changes so much that we need a whole new Bible.
Well if Fruitland is among the cream of the crop I’d hate to see the cob they come off of! But, I’ll move on, because the problem isn’t limited to Southern Baptists. One of the books I had to buy and read at the Independent Baptist College I attend(ed) was A General Introduction to the Bible, by Geisler and Nix. On Pg 43 of this textbook, talking about the original Hebrew and Greek texts, it says: “…some errors of copyists have obviously crept into the text.” And in a footnote, the author goes on to list those “obvious” errors.
(I gave the congregation a handout listing the “supposed” contradictions along with a “very simple” explanation of them. I may post that handout later). That made me so mad, I had a hunting knife right beside me, and I stabbed that thing, I tore the pages out, I kicked it across the room – then I remembered I still had homework to do in it. I know that makes me sound like an idiot, but what that textbook implied really and truly bothered me. If there really was a mistake in ONE part of my Bible, then it could be mistaken in other places too! I’d been up till early in the morning trying to prove to myself that those two verses the textbook listed didn’t really contradict each other. And when I found the answer, it was so simple, I was angry with myself!) Now, my heart says, along with the Psalmist, “Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.” (Ps 119:140)
Other required reading I had at Tabernacle Baptist College was Our God-Breathed Book by John R. Rice. I had heard a lot of good things about John R. Rice so when I came to page 376 I was a little disappointed when learned there were no perfect translations. But one encouraging thing about it, on page 382, I learned the American Standard Version could “correct” the “mistakes” in my King James Bible. Isn’t that a blessing? (Sarcasm is just another service I offer.)
The whole problem is Scholars are too quick to assume that the Bible has errors and they aren’t willing approach it out from the standpoint of faith. For instance, they believe we should treat the Bible as any other book in order to show unbelievers it’s really above other books. But by doing that we’re trying to convert unbelievers by the strange method of participating in their unbelief. Even if we’re successful in the end, we’re still justifying the ungodly means. But without faith it’s impossible to please God! Rom 14:23 – “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” If I cannot take the Bible in my hand and by faith say this is the preserved Word of God, then it is sin. My motive is to get you to appreciate what God has done for us in giving us the King James Bible. It should motivate us to engulf ourselves in the pages of Scripture.
REASONS WHY WE NEED OUR BIBLE:
First of all, you can’t even get saved without the pure Word of God! 1Peter 1:23 “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” In Matthew 13 Jesus told about how a man sowed good seed in his field, but his enemy came in at night and sowed tares.
I studied those tares out. Initially, when they first come up, they look the same as the wheat.
And that’s always been the Devil’s Mode of Operation. – Deception by Imitation! The devil isn’t concerned with destroying the Word of God, half as much as he is replacing the Word of God. But if you want people to get saved, you’ll sow the Good Seed. Secondly, the Bible will keep you from sin. Psalm 119:11 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book.
The Bible will give you Strength. When God led the children of Israel through the wilderness, they would have starved to death out there, but He gave them bread from Heaven. When Israel found this bread on the ground, they took one look at and said to themselves, “Huh?”- and so they named it, “Manna.” “Manna” means “what in the world is this stuff?”
When I talk to some people about the King James Bible, do you know what they say? “Well, I just can’t understand all those words” or “ It’s so hard to read…” But if you’d just spend half as much time reading the Bible, as you do watching television and reading Cosmo; I believe God would open that book up and show you great and mighty things which you know not! Hey! There’s nothing spiritual about being stupid!
Our problem is we’re too much like Israel. They got tired of Bread from Heaven. They said it was “Too old fashioned” for them – but the real problem was they wanted flesh! They were being fed, in fact they were eating the very best God had to offer! Israel just didn’t like what was cooking! If that aint a picture of mankind I don’t know what is! We could care less what’s good for us – Just make us feel good –give us flesh!
You may not like the King James Bible; – it treats you rough, just like life does.
But in it you’ll find sixty-six books of the Power of God. When you open this Bible you’re breaking open the Bread of life! It’ll give you what you need to walk through this desert land. Jesus said, “I AM that bread life!” What can Jesus do? He and He alone can satisfy that hunger you have deep down inside! “O taste and see that the LORD is good…” Psalm 34:8.
Let me just be plain: you may read the King James Bible and find something that’s wrong. But the defect is not the Bible – there’s something wrong with YOU. If find something wrong, you must be reading the Queen James. I believe I have, the plenary-verbal, inspired, infallible, inerrant, Words of God, preserved in the English language and it’s called the King James Bible. I do not believe the King James is merely a good translation. – It IS the Word of God. I believe the Genesis account of creation was a literal six-day period. I believe that because of sin man is eternally separated from God and already under condemnation. I believe, that though many animal sacrifices were made in the Old Testament, not one single sin was ever purged by the blood of bulls and goats! (Heb 10:4) I believe God is a righteous, thrice-Holy God, Who must execute judgment upon the ungodly. Yet I know that I know that I know, that there is a fountain filled with blood underneath which man can find mercy and shelter from the wrath of God.
I admit, I don’t understand every single verse in the Bible, but I do believe it. And we’re not called to be understanders but believers. If God said it, it doesn’t matter who believes it; that settles it. I’ve never seen Heaven, but I believe there is one. I’ve never seen Hell, but I believe there is one. How do I know that? Because the Bible says so! How do I know I’m saved? Because the Bible says so! But of all the things in this world: the most profound, heart warming, thing in my life is being able to sing – without a doubt in my mind:
“Jesus Loves Me, This I Know
For The Bible Tells Me So!”
In conclusion, let me say this to my crowd: I’m talking to the independent, fundamental, Hell-raising, God honoring, Christ exalting, home-schooled, breastfed, women-don’t-work, King-James-only-and-only-King-James, Bible believing, Baptists. Listen to me! So what if you’re King James only, what difference does it make what Bible you don’t read?
We’ve got all the outward stuff down pat but we must raise the bar. The world has a right to look at us and see an outliving of the indwelling Christ! Unfortunately, many in our ranks carry a King James Bible and live a New American Standard life.
I used to challenge my Sunday School kids – I’d told them “if you’re such big Christians I dare you to carry a Scofield Bible under your arm all day at school.” The very idea seemed to send cold chills up their spines. Well, I used to do that. Nowadays I’m tickled to death if they even bring a Bible to church. But I wonder how many of you parents have even read your Bible since Sunday? How many of you have devotions with your family? Did you know, you prove what you believe by what you do? Why should your kids think you believe the Bible – you never read it? Jesus said, “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63. If that’s so, how can you live the Spirit-filled Life, without reading His Words?
Hey most of us don’t have a problem with plenary verbal inspiration. We have a problem with plenary verbal obedience. We can read a newspaper from front to back and never put it down – but if we read two chapters of the Bible we think we’re God-fearing, Christ-honoring Christians. I think we might all need to beg God’s forgiveness for being so lackadaisical when it comes to reading His Word.
Jason
