Psalm 12:6-7 KJV

“The words of the LORD are pure words: As silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, Thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.”

This topic has been on my heart to write about for a few weeks now, but it may be shorter than usual because we are still in the moving process. Nevertheless, here goes.

Recently, I talked to a fellow believer about a certain YouTuber going around on various channels, posting how no one should read the Bible anymore because it’s been ‘supernaturally changed’ due to the “Mandela Effect.” (As if Satan has more power than God in changing the Bible than God has in supernaturally preserving it.. but I digress.)

And I relayed how I went on to rebuke this person once again for their blasphemous and evil attempts at discrediting God’s Holy and Pure Words and making people not want to read God’s Word anymore!

To which, to my mortification, this fellow believer subsequently replied with, “All the Bibles are corrupt, and all versions are inaccurate.” At that moment, I couldn’t believe my ears and what I was hearing and what they were saying in response! Especially from a supposed committed believer!

So, let’s go on and entertain that contaminated belief for a moment, shall we, and the proceeding thought processes that tend to follow such detriments-to-the-soul thoughts, beliefs, and ideas.

So, if one believes that all Bibles are corrupt and all versions are inaccurate, then what is the point in reading it at all as a believer and especially as a nonbeliever? Why would anyone, for that matter, want to read something that is corrupt and inaccurate?

No.. really.. seriously?

Once it is established in one’s mind that there’s no good reason to read God’s Word, then the process goes as follows: How, then, will people know what God has to say to them? They won’t.

And if people don’t know what God has to say to them, how will they get to know Jesus and what He did on the cross to save them from their sins? They won’t.

And if they don’t know who JESUS is and what He did to save them, how will they be saved? They won’t… and that’s the whole blasphemous, evil, and demonic point!

See, the enemy, the devil, who is Satan, has perpetuated this lie ever since the time in the Garden of Eden, where he made Eve question the authority and validity of God’s Word by asking her, “Yea, hath God said”?

All the way down to today, the same regurgitated, repeated, evil, and blasphemous question remains, “Did God really say… is His Word valid, accurate, and true?”

And if not, then the next step is that we should all just write it off as supernaturally corrupt by something as a supposed Mandela Effect or as corrupted through fallible writers and errant translations.

Ding, ding, ding! That’s what the enemy of our souls wants, for us to doubt the Bible and its inerrancy, infallibility, and validity so that people will not read it or to get believers to stop reading it!

Think about that for a moment…. If we don’t have God’s Pure and Holy Words for life, living, and the saving of our souls, then we have NOTHING!!!

If we don’t have JESUS as our Savior and His atoning blood to wash away our sins before a Holy, Righteous, and Just God in Heaven… then we have NO ONE to save us!!!

And if we have no one righteous enough to save us from our wretched sins, then we are all going to Hell for all of eternity, and there’s nothing we can do about it!!!

Sorry but not sorry!

That person on YouTube can call me naive, gullible, or crazy all they want, but I’m clinging to God’s Holy Word because, in it, we find JESUS, SALVATION, AND ETERNAL LIFE WITH GOD IN HEAVEN FOR ALL OF ETERNITY!!!

No one is going to take HIM, HIS WORD, or that HOPE away from me ever because I am committed to believing it and in Him (JESUS CHRIST) for the rest of my life!

I’m taking my chances in putting all my trust, faith, and belief in the Holy Bible! I’m banking on research and studies from devout and committed believers, such as in the 25+ years of research fellow Brother in Christ David Daniels has done on multiple Bible translations.

Throughout his extensive research, he has found the King James Version to be as close to the original as possible. Website chick.com has his books, research, and studies on this topic and tracts that can explain all this far better than I can.

All I know is that I choose to go in this vein. I’m choosing to believe in the inerrancy, infallibility, and accuracy of God’s Word in the often and famously attacked KJV.

I used to read the NIV, but through David Daniel’s studies, he found that version omits over 250+ verses stating the Deity of Christ. So it matters what version we adhere to. The ones that stay true to the Deity of Jesus Christ are very important!

What I would tell my fellow believer friend, and anyone for that matter, is that it is crucial what we think and believe about God’s Word!

Because if we don’t have that to stand on and for the basis of our belief, then we will have no leg to stand on and will have NOTHING!!!

Make sure you know, that you know, that you know what you believe because it matters more than we can even fathom, and our works will follow us and apparently will resound in many ways for all of eternity!!!

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Bible-Verses-About-Gods-Word/

Until next time… Maranatha!

Sincerely & In Christ,

Candy Austin

(I have no Accolades….
I am just a Nobody,
Trying to tell Everybody
All about Somebody
Who can save Anybody!)

https://youtu.be/_wCTQdmXkUg

My Mission is to be ‘Salt and Light’ to a Lost and Dying world.
To be an Ambassador for Jesus Christ.
All for Him and His Glory!

How should our dispensational movement attempt to move forward?

That is the vital question of this series. And I began my attempt at tackling it last week, looking at the issue in terms of what you might call its philosophical foundation. In essence, I provided some very basic and practical direction for the revival of dispensationalism—drawing on its historical roots from the time that it began to grow in popularity as a system of theology.

Surely, there is more to be done—much more that must be done in these, perhaps the closing days of the church age. The words of Christ to the seven churches are most applicable and poignant here:

“Hold fast what you have till I come” (Rev. 2:25).

“Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain” (Rev. 3:2).

“Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown” (Rev. 3:11).

I cannot give direction to all dispensationalists; however, especially since, in total, they would be very unlikely to follow my guidance. Instead, I would like to set forward some more very practical concepts which, if pursued, would move us toward the revitalization of the dispensational movement. In this way, perhaps I can influence the thinking of even one reader who will consider these words and benefit from them.

In my service for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry and even before that, through ministering in other capacities, I have spoken in a great number of churches that represent a wide range on the spectrum of dispensationalism.

One manner of feedback I have received in a variety of forms—after teaching on Bible prophecy or explaining dispensational theology—is a statement that goes something like this: “I have not heard anything like that in a long, long time.”

Spoken musingly, the announcement is bittersweet. It is at once meant to be both a compliment for me as well as, I suppose, a reflection on that church’s teaching. But the obvious question I have in my mind as I listen is, “Why not?”

Could it be that one reason for a dearth of dispensational preaching and teaching is the lack of men who have been skillfully trained to provide such instruction? Why is this?

I would assert that one observable cause is that dispensational churches have been inconsistent, at best, in locating and employing dispensational ministers.

I suppose there are a myriad of explanations for this. A noticeable one is that church boards and pulpit committees are often either misinformed or simply oblivious to such issues during the process of calling a new pastor.

Some innocently assume that anyone who preaches the Bible must naturally teach what their local church has always taught. Others may recognize a different emphasis on the part of the new preacher but lack the skill to discern the rationale behind the difference.

I am sure that many others have called pastors based on the reputations of their alma maters. But this assumes that the individual graduate is carrying forward the heritage he acquired from his school. Often, this is not the case. The pastoral candidate—excited to accept a position—may not be so eager to point out technical differences in his theology. More nefariously, he may have a strategy of revealing them later, with a view toward changing the trajectory of that church body. It appears to me that these issues have become more prevalent in recent years.

Along the same lines, church leaders may be trusting the reputation that a particular Bible college or seminary enjoyed many decades ago and might be dangerously out of touch with the reality on the ground in that school as it exists today.

People usually do not fall into good health or out of debt. So also, it would be rare indeed for a local church congregation to fall into dispensational theology. This is a direction that must be consistently chosen and rigorously maintained. It requires repeated emphasis and continual explanation. Church board and committee members must become more theologically astute, and seek counsel when needed, rather than remaining silent as decisions are made—then later wondering what happened.

To dispensational pastors who have been well trained in these areas yet, somehow, rarely speak on them, I would like to share this word of encouragement: Pastor, you hold in your hands a rare “treasure” (Matt. 13:52). Please don’t hide or waste it. Please don’t be afraid to expound these precious truths from your pulpit. I believe you’ll find, in fact, that there are many who hunger to understand the convictions you have to share.

If, as I asserted previously, dispensationalism offers a method of thinking and a course of living, then it is time for us to go beyond survival and rebuild a culture of dispensationalism in our churches—drawing on the best of our heritage and traditions.

And that is where we will resume next time.

***

Paul J. Scharf (M.A., M.Div., Faith Baptist Theological Seminary) is a church ministries representative for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, based in Columbus, WI, and serving in the Midwest. For more information on his ministry, visit sermonaudio.com/pscharf or foi.org/scharf, or email pscharf@foi.org.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version.