“O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings and oppositions of science falsely so called: which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen” (1 Timothy 6:20-21).

The Apostle Paul was concerned that the Gospel would be corrupted, and therefore he wrote to the pastors of various congregations, urging them to stand firm on God’s truth. It would be wonderful if pastors today would stop preaching a different Gospel than found in Scripture. I hear it quite often. “I can’t find a church that teaches from the Bible.” What a sad comment on the state of Christianity.

How has this happened? Scripture is God’s truth and is the standard of how we should live. Satan has successfully corrupted God’s truth by twisting it just like he did in the Garden of Eden. Evolution is a lie that has no place within the Christian community.

Sometimes I try to rationalize this nonsense, and it becomes so absurd that I have to laugh. Sadly, much of the Christian community has come to believe this lie rather than the truth of God’s word. With the discovery of DNA, evolution should have been put to rest, but so-called scientists and public schools just can’t get beyond the lie.

Romans chapter 1 tells us what happens when the creation is worshipped rather than the Creator. I urge every person reading this commentary to study Romans chapter 1 and then look around and see how society has degenerated since the theory of evolution has been accepted as fact.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). God’s truth is being rejected, and Satan’s evil agenda is being embraced. When God is rejected, sin reigns. “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things” (Romans 1:21-23).

There are consequences for rejecting God’s truth. “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator who is blessed for ever. Amen” (Romans 1:24-25).

It’s important to understand what God sees as sin, and then Christians need to oppose it and not allow sin to creep into the congregation. Don’t forget to love the sinner and lead them out of darkness and into the Light of God. You can’t do that if you agree with the sin and call evil good. God says that even if we don’t participate in the sin but approve of it, then we are also guilty. “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Romans 1:32). God’s word never changes, so this is still true today.

That’s not the only lie that the world accepts that Christians need to reject. As disclosed in Romans chapter 1, believing the lie of evolution leads to homosexuality. If there’s no God to set the standard of morality, then anything goes. In our “woke” society today, there is no truth, and as in the days of the Judges, people did what they wanted. “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). We see that attitude today. God should have been embraced as King over Israel, but He was rejected, and people lived by their own rules.

Today, truth is rejected, and sin is accepted. You may have been born male, but because you reject reality and truth, you decide you’re a female. Then you go through the process of mutilating your body and take hormone-altering drugs in order to live out the lie you think is true. Some people even believe they are a cat or a dog. “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).

The world may accept this craziness, but it has no place within Christian congregations. As we draw nearer to the Rapture, we know that deception will be a stumbling block for those who don’t hold fast to God’s truth.

The Apostle Paul totally changed his outlook on life after he met Jesus. The things he thought were important before Christ changed him were no longer important to him. He was a very intelligent man, and while walking in darkness, he used that intelligence for all the wrong purposes. After he met Jesus, he used his intelligence to serve God. He conformed his life to honor Jesus rather than trying to conform Jesus to himself. Because Paul submitted to God, he preached the Gospel boldly with no gimmicks. Because Paul preached truth instead of lies, we can read his letters and see how we are supposed to live.

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

That’s the Gospel in simple, straightforward terms.

Today, we seem to rely on gimmicks to spread the Gospel. Too many pastors are afraid to preach God’s truth, and Scripture is compromised. They see it as being more important to protect the tax-exempt status than it is to preach the truth. Above all, don’t make anyone uncomfortable about their sin, because if you preach against sin, they may not donate to the collection plate. The Apostle Paul was more interested in preaching God’s truth than amassing a fortune.

The people of Thessalonica readily received God’s truth, even without gimmicks. “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

Why is it that today, the pure word of God is deemed insufficient?

God’s truth hasn’t changed. People need to hear it in order to find salvation. Why do we think we need to compromise God’s truth today? Are we sharing the Gospel or something that Satan has twisted?

“We are not makers and inventors; we are repeaters, we tell the message we have received” – Charles Spurgeon.

What message are we promoting? Is it the same message which Paul promoted on his many missionary journeys? Is it the same Gospel that Peter embraced when feeding the flock just as Jesus called him to do? What are people led to believe when they sit and listen to their pastor on Sunday mornings not mention Christ and why He died for us? Or when the pastor preaches about prosperity or New Age teachings? The prosperity Gospel is false doctrines. What about the purpose-driven gimmick or some other nonsense instead of preaching the truth of the Gospel? Unless the pure Gospel is taught, you aren’t being given God’s truth. We aren’t to create new truths, but we are to preach the old truth found in Scripture. The Gospel is never to be considered old fashion, obsolete, or obscure.

“New Age,” seeker-friendly teachings are really just the same old lies Satan has always used to draw people away from God’s truth. Meditation and yoga are both wrong for Christians and shouldn’t be found within our congregations. We don’t see Jesus practicing these things, and neither should we. Scripture does tell us to meditate upon the things of God, and that is very different than Eastern meditation, which promotes emptying your mind. If you make your mind empty, demons can easily enter. Scripture encourages us to meditate upon God and His truth.

In his first letter to the young pastor Timothy, Paul gave quite a teaching that every seminary seems to have forgotten to teach. “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them: that thy profiting may appear to all” (1 Timothy 4:15). Meletao is the Greek word translated “meditate upon.” According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary, it means “to care for, attend carefully.” Paul encouraged Timothy to be confident in his ministry. In verse 15, Paul tells Timothy to “Meditate on these things.” To find out what things to meditate upon, read the previous chapters.

Remember, we may not all stand before a congregation and preach, but all Christians need to represent our Lord. It’s easy to sit in a pew on Sunday, or put a bumper sticker on your vehicle that says, “Honk if you love Jesus,” or wear a t-shirt with a catchy saying, but it’s a lot harder to show God’s grace in our daily walk. Are you able to defend your faith? Peter says you need to and tells us how to do that. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” (1 Peter 3:15).

You cannot have an answer for your hope if you twist your body into ridiculous positions while emptying your mind in hopes of opening chakras in order to release the kundalini spirit in you. That’s all very satanic. Sadly, this practice is permeating our Christian congregations and is practiced by many Christians. Don’t be deceived by lies.

Jesus didn’t promote a “seeker-friendly” doctrine. He forgave sinners, but He urged them to leave their sin behind. He knows your sins and mine and loves us in spite of our shortcomings. Don’t be deceived, but study Scripture and be sure your pastor preaches God’s truth from Genesis through Revelation. It’s important to encourage unsaved people to come to church, but it’s important that they find truth being preached there. Lies might fill the pews but won’t save souls; only the truth of God can do that. That truth isn’t found in the latest trend or a book written by someone who has written it in order to make themselves rich. God’s truth is found in Scripture. Study it.

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

If lies are sneaking into your congregation, then take a stand against the lies. If your plea for truth is rejected, find another congregation to join. Maybe God is calling you to start a fellowship in your home.

The Apostle Paul had a clear conscience. Although he had been, by his own description, the greatest of sinners, after he met Jesus, he only served Him and spread the Gospel without gimmicks. In his final meeting with the elders of Ephesus, he encouraged them to not stray from preaching truth. He was an example of how these elders, and those that have come after them, should teach.

“Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:26-28).

Paul had been guilty of great sin prior to meeting Christ, but after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he shared the Gospel without compromise and lived to honor Christ. Because he wasn’t seeker-friendly, many people came to a saving faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross. If someone heard Paul’s words and then decided to reject Jesus, Paul wasn’t guilty of that person’s eternal death. Today, there are many congregations that only hear lies and a watered-down Gospel. How many souls are being lost for lack of hearing truth?

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul encouraged the young pastor to preach truth. “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:1-2).

Maybe instead of pastors being indoctrinated in seminaries, they should study Scripture. Only God’s word is inspired by the Holy Spirit, and any teaching or practice other than that which is found in God’s word is questionable and should be rejected.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

We are living in that time. Sound doctrine isn’t compatible with the “woke” generation. Lies and fables are acceptable by pastors and congregations, but only God’s truth will lead a person to salvation. Turn away from lies and turn to God’s truth.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com
ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com
www.prophecyupdate.com
www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.

Waiting is hard for most of us. Maybe you’re waiting for news about your health or waiting for word that the loan has been approved to purchase your dream home. When I was a child, I had a very hard time waiting for our local county fair to start, and my birthday. Time seems to drag by as we wait for things we can’t rush. We all know the old cliché of a young husband in a hospital waiting room, awaiting the news that his wife has given birth and that she and the newborn baby are both safe and healthy. He paces and wrings his hands, but prayer would be more beneficial. Even the most solid Christian can forget to pray in times of stress.

It’s not a secret that we are nearing the end of days, and Christians need to be busy while we wait. We need to pray for strength, courage, and guidance. The news isn’t fun to listen to. There seems to be evil in every headline, and that can make us fret. But prayerfully studying Scripture should bring Christians a sense of peace because the sin which separated us from God has been forgiven, and our salvation is secure.

Biblical Prophecy discloses the signs of the times, and time is getting short. “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

While the signs of the times are unsettling, we can find God’s perfect peace. The word “careful” is better understood as “anxious.” It comes from the Greek verb “merimnao,” which means “to be anxious, to be troubled with cares.” Modern translations say, “Be anxious for nothing” or “Don’t worry about anything.”

When troubles in life have us upset, it’s good to keep busy. Praying is our first priority, but after that, get busy serving Jesus. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross paid our sin debt, but His example to us and His directions tell us that we aren’t to sit back and be idle.

Jesus was not concerned about upsetting the religious leaders by doing things they felt broke the Law. For instance, on one particular Sabbath, He came across a man who had been blind from birth, and His disciples questioned if the man or his parents had sinned. Jesus said the blindness wasn’t caused by sin, but it was so that God’s works would be seen. Jesus said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:4-5).

Jesus knew that a major flap would come from “working on the Sabbath” but knew He had a higher calling. He had to do the works of God the Father while there was still time.

The darkness of evil is falling all around. “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5). Today, the Light shines through Christians, and we must work for our Lord. Not to buy or earn salvation, but while we wait for Him to call us Home, we need to be busy sharing the Gospel.

An interesting person in Scripture is Enoch. He lived prior to God’s judgment of the flood and is a “picture” of the pre-tribulation Rapture. The truth of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture isn’t a new idea brought about in the 1800s. Those who don’t study Scripture can be very misguided in their beliefs.

In Genesis, we learn that Enoch was sixty-five years old when his son Methuselah was born. “And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years and begat sons and daughters” (Genesis 5:22). Enoch didn’t sit around for 300 years waiting to be translated, but He lived a life that reflected God. What did he do while he waited? We know he was a prophet. “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints” (Jude 1:14).

Enoch was an example to his family and to the evil world around him. It was up to those who were around him to accept or reject his example. Rejection didn’t turn Enoch away from his walk with God.

“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). Enoch was “taken” prior to the judgment of the flood. This is also spoken of in the Book of Hebrews. “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had his testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5).

Enoch’s faith and way of living kept him from facing God’s judgment.

Today, Christians are like Enoch. We see the darkness of sin and evil growing darker each day. What are we supposed to do while we wait for the Rapture? We are to work — not to earn salvation but to be examples to a fallen and lost world.

“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).

Some would have us believe that our belief in Christ doesn’t have to change the way we behave. We are saved by faith. That’s true; our faith doesn’t require works. Jesus paid the full price for our salvation, but our faith should change our behavior. While we wait for the Blessed Hope of the Rapture, we need to “deny ungodliness and worldly lusts” and “we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.”

Ask yourself if you, like Enoch, are walking with God. Enoch lived prior to the finished work of Christ on the cross, and he didn’t have the grace under which we live. We have so much to be grateful for that while we wait for the Blessed Hope, we should submit our self-will to God.

The Apostle Paul could have continued in his evil ways after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, but what kind of witness would he have brought to the world if he had held tightly to his sin?

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).

The Rapture is coming closer every day, and there are many people who haven’t met Jesus. We need to share the Gospel with the lost souls around us.

We have work to do while we wait for that call to go Home with Jesus. When the call comes, the sins we hold on to won’t give us any pleasure and will be nothing more than waste products that will be burned up. Every person will one day stand before God’s judgment. Those who reject Christ will be judged by their works at the Great White Throne. No amount of works can bring salvation. Those of us who have accepted Christ for salvation will stand before the Bema Seat of Christ. Our works will also be judged, but not for salvation.

Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire: and the fire shall try every man’s work of what short it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire” (1 Corinthians 3:13-15).

Your salvation doesn’t depend upon works, but when you stand before Christ and see His nail-scarred hands, you will want to have done more for Him today. Get busy while you wait.

The Apostle Paul taught about the pre-tribulation rapture in his letters written to believers in Thessalonica and Corinth. He makes it clear that Christians won’t be here to face God’s wrath during the Tribulation.

“For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10).

Jesus took our punishment upon Himself. He died for us, and even though we face many troubles in this life, we won’t face God’s final wrath.

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

We cannot know the date of the Rapture, but we can watch for the signs. Whether we die prior to the Rapture or are alive when it happens, all Christians will be gathered to Him.

What are you doing while you wait? Are you proudly holding on to sin, or are you walking with God?

The last command that Jesus gave to His followers was to preach the Gospel. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).

You may not be able to be a missionary to some remote part of the world, but your family and your neighborhood are in need of hearing the Gospel. Share with friends and family while you can. Time is getting short.

When I hear of wars and rumors of war, pestilence, or happenings that tell me we are returning to the days of Noah and the days of Lot, I don’t wring my hands and fret. Scripture tells me that the Rapture will soon happen. While I wait, I try to represent Jesus to the best of my ability. I’m waiting for either death to take me from the world or for the Rapture. While I wait, I want a closer walk with Jesus and to be a stronger witness for my Lord.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com

www.prophecyupdate.com

www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.