threeDs

(Are you really a Bible believer?)

Will the true Jesus follower please stand up

Like the word "church" or "faith" another word that has been hijacked by the religious world is ... you got it, the biggie ... the word "Christian". The whole idea is for the prince of this world to take the scriptural term for the true follower of the Way and confuse it in order to set up smokescreens to obscure the genuine way (wow, even the Devil must know the scriptures are the word of God), or blend it in with the many religious alternatives. Hence, the term 'Bible believer' is used a lot today by the remnant (and those masquerading as the remnant) into counteracting Satan's counterfeit definitions of those who have found the truth in order to keep others from finding the truth.

However, not all those who claim to be Bible believers are indeed what they claim to be. In other words, many so-called Bible believers are in actual fact Bible disbelievers. Therefore, the war between truth and error, light and darkness, continues as some believers stumblingly contend for the faith and some others make a stand for the inerrancy of scripture.

May I make this quite clear though; because a Christian might say he does not believe in a perfect Bible I would never say this Brother is not saved. This is because someone's salvation is based entirely on calling out to the name of Lord (although their salvation would line up completely with the word anyway - hopefully they will see this later by revelation). However, in their ignorance they may not realize their Saviour, the incorruptible word (which brings regeneration), and the scriptures (which cannot be broken) are one and the same. I will explain this later.

The true Bible Believer

In order for a Bible believer to be called a Bible believer in the 'true-blue' 'fair dinkum' scriptural sense of the word, one has to believe in all three of the following scriptural witnesses. Can you please tick each one if you sincerely believe in each one?

Divine inspiration of scripture
Divine preservation of scripture
Divine revelation of scripture

True? Please tick!
True? Please tick!
True? Please tick!

Scripturally, ticking just one or two is not enough. The three must all be believed and practised in order to make the grade. As scripture always makes a case with three witnesses let's expound on the above three:

Divine Inspiration

You've heard it so many times ... and here it is again:

2 Tim. 3:16. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness".

"That's fine!" many would say (some hoping to be let off the hook) ... "but does this mean OT scripture, or the originals that were written at the time of Paul are only the inspired?"

Please note the word All!!. Or maybe this is a translation error or something? Like smoke it is! Because this notion is disarmed instantly by the next witness backing up the Lord's promise to preserve and keep His word. If you don't believe this then you only have one alternative left, which is placing your complete trust in human scholars. That's the textual critics, educated revisionists and credentialed "experts" of our time. (Remember what an x-spert is? An "x" is an unknown quantity, and a "spert" (spurt) is a drip under pressure!)

It all comes back to whether you will put your trust in a dollar, I mean a scholar (man) or a book (the Lord's record). It all comes back to whether you trust in a cemetery, I mean seminary, or a God who says his record is true (John 19:35). It all boils down to whether you will heed the paid professionals and modern revisionists of our time ...

Jer. 8:8. "How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain."

Or the scripture (the lot that is - from Genesis to Revelation) ...

Is. 34:16. "Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read"

Can you do this? Seek it out that is! Where is it found? The book that is? God's book! A complete book where all the counsel of God can be read with assurance. A book which we can confidently say contains the holy scriptures. Without error. The "i's" dotted and the "t's" crossed. Let alone one word missing or changed, or a whole scripture tampered with. You only need one bit of leaven to spoil the whole lump. Like a missing comma or a full stop in the wrong place. Then it no longer qualifies to called holy ... to be called The Holy Bible.

Luke 4:4. "And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written (wow, the scriptures must have such authority), That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."

Proverbs 30:5. Every word of God is pure: Do you believe it? That's the scriptures speaking! Not your pastor, or "spiritual adviser", or The Radical Pilgrim!

Continued ... "he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him."

This scripture reveals every word (meaning the scriptures) and he (Jesus) are one and the same. Therefore these three; 1. Jesus (the Person and God), 2. the word (from out of this Person's mouth), and 3. the scriptures (His spoken word put in writing - He backs up what He says) are one and the same; spirit and life made record of. Do you believe it? Jesus speaks the word of life which is written (scripted, scrolled, recorded) as the book of life. You can argue with me, but you can't argue with the scriptures unless you don't believe them; even partially that is. Which means you don't believe in Jesus' word either. He said you are either for Him or against Him. Meaning, if you partially believe in His word then you don't believe in Jesus. They are one and the same. Sorry, but there is no neutral ground now folks! The sword has fallen. The scribe or the Author? The crook or the Book? Which one will you believe?

Divine Preservation

Now that we have clearly ascertained from scripture that they are one and the same with the word (we are letting the scriptures speak and prove themselves, are we not?), let us be refreshed with Psalms 12: 6-7:

"The words of the LORD (the scriptures) are pure words (not tainted, even partly): as silver tried in a furnace of earth (have proven themselves through hostility and the turmoil's of history), purified seven times (completely untainted by time). Thou shalt keep them (He will never lose, deny or neglect them, even though heaven and earth pass away), O LORD, thou shalt preserve them (will never be tampered by man, will never loose their meaning - that's a promise) from this generation for ever (whenever the present is with us)."

What an incredible promise! Do you still trust God? Does He lie or contradict Himself? Is He the author of confusion? Or is He a God of order and preservation?

Just the same way ... is He a God of gamesmanship and playing tricks? Or is He a God with no shadow of turning and complete immutability, who uses clear plain speech and always, always, backs up what He has said?

Even though language will change, and the word will translate from the original perished autographs to copies, to copies of copies, to other languages; it's original meaning will always remain the same to any age. This means we have God's written word today, undiluted, uncorrupted, and kept as reliable in written book form, between two covers, for the man or woman in the street to understand clearly and precisely as the sole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Ps. 93:5. "Thy testimonies are very sure"
Ps. 119:138. "Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful."
Ps. 119:144. "The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting"
Ps. 19:7. "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple."

Are we truly wise in our own eyes or are we simplistic in our faith? Are we simple and foolish enough to believe Jesus, the word, and the scripture (the Bible) are one and the same? If you are, then you can interchange freely the Word of life (Jesus) with the book of life freely:

John 1:1. "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life."

Can you hold the book in your hand and say with full assurance, "This is the Word of life!" "This is the word of God!"

Divine Revelation

As the word of God is not bound it is therefore not subject to the monopoly of private interpretation as the scriptures proclaim. Therefore, the word is not under copyright nor censorship, nor any other bureaucratic control. Neither does one race, or group, or church, or organization have the right to claim ownership, or sole responsibility, or agency, to convey its meaning. No apologies Folks!!

Jesus said it was for anyone:

Matt. 11:25. "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent (well, not quite anyone), and hast revealed them unto babes."

Paul made out it was for us, every believer. Not just a select few, because of their higher learning capabilities, or IQ:

Phil. 3:15 ... "God shall reveal even this unto you".

If you wait for your church, your minister, your pastor, or your "spiritual" adviser, to get it from, you may get a filtered down or different version.

Paul says it is to get by revelation:

Gal. 1:12. "For I neither received it of man (was he a rebel?), neither was I taught it (a mystic?), but by the revelation of Jesus Christ (oh, one of those!)."

How do we get it?

By not being conceited, or puffed up, or depending on our own understanding. Nor by scholarly interpretation or credentialed expertise:

1 Cor. 1:20. "Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?"

So where is God's wise (the world's foolish) to be found?

Is. 66:2 ... "but to this man will I look (show Myself to, reveal), even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word (you wont get that in a mega "prosperity" church)."

This does not mean we abandon our brain, but use it fearfully in co-operation with Him, as we conform to (not correct) His word.

The book

The book is reserved for those who are poor and of a contrite spirit. Not the self conceited or self taught. Nor those who are cleverly brainwashed by higher learning. Nor those who are too clever to believe the Lord could preserve His word, right down through the trials and the fires of the tumultuous centuries, of language changes and social and racial barriers, of textual manipulation and pseudo scientific revolution. The book is for the unlearned who have no intellectual pride to swallow or academic ability to bury; whose education has not become a stumbling block to them.

Is. 29:12. "And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned."

If you were once deaf and blind and desperate for the truth, God-wards, then you would've been a good candidate for hearing from Him through His book, and seeing its content.

Is. 29:18. "And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness (no limelight in this department)."

<>The Lord has a book. It is reserved for the deaf, the blind, the contrite, and the desperate. Are you trembling at it, or are you criticizing it? Are you honouring it, or are you correcting it? Maybe you are partially deaf or partially blind and only see to the same degree of your desperation for the truth? The rest of what you think you see is only indoctrination and conditioning from your religious past, obscuring the truth and bringing spiritual limitations. Jesus is totally independent of any degree of any party's dogma or fraternity. He is only found in the complete book as Ps. 40:7:

"Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me".<>

The uncompromising warning found in Rev. 22:19:

"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."

Are you trembling at it, or are you undermining it? Are you correcting it, or is it correcting you?