LUKE 13 PARABLE: “LET IT ALONE THIS YEAR ALSO”
Luk 13:6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Luk 13:7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? Luk 13:8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: Luk 13:9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. Luk 13:10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. In view of what the Lord set forth in Luke 13:7–10, it is my understanding that the period of...
Read MoreTODAY’S CHURCH CALLED SPIRITUAL ISRAEL?
Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. It certainly is a doctrinal and spiritual tragedy when Christians don’t “rightly divide the word of truth” in recognition of God’s two programs; the one with Israel and the other with us today in this dispensation of God’s grace to the Gentiles. Not only does confusion abound in so many areas of doctrine and practice, but Christians even fail to identify themselves properly. Since they are commonly taught that we are fulfillers of Israel’s promises and...
Read MoreSONSHIP PRAYER: “BE CAREFUL FOR NOTHING”
Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. In order for us to fully understand, appreciate, and operate upon such issues as Philippians 4:5–6; Ephesians 3:20; and I Thessalonians 5:18; it is necessary that we first of all have operating within us some specific fundamental and foundational doctrines. For though, for example, Philippians 4:5–6 deals with the issue of prayer, it does not deal with prayer on a foundational level. The Philippian saints were not new believers, nor “babes in Christ,” nor carnal saints, nor...
Read MoreAS MANY AS WERE ORDAINED TO ETERNAL LIFE BELIEVED
Act 13:47 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. Act 13:48 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. Act 13:49 And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. First off I want to speak very generally by saying that understanding and appreciating the nature of the information that is set forth in the overall context of what is recorded from the end of Acts 7 and leading up to 13:48 is critical to properly understanding what the last part of verse 48 states, along with appreciating why...
Read MoreDEFINING THE TRINITY
1Jn 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 1Jn 5:6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. 1Jn 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 1Jn 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. In my experience the only reason why the issue of the trinity, (or the issue of God’s triune nature and being), is difficult for someone to understand is because the person thinks that God should be able to be easily...
Read MoreWHY PAUL DID NOT EXPLAIN THE MYSTERY TO KING AGRIPPA?
Act 26:27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Act 26:28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Act 26:29 And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds. It is my understanding that there is nothing peculiar, or strange, or wrong, about Paul saying that he preached to both Jews and Gentiles “that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.” For simply put, when Paul says that men “should repent and turn to God” this is a perfectly fitting and general description of what the effectual working of “the gospel of...
Read MoreTHE DAY OF CHRIST~THE LORD’S DAY OF WRATH
2Th 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2Th 2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 2Th 2:6 And now ye know what...
Read More1Cor.15:20-24: THE ORDER OF THE RESURRECTION
1Co 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 1Co 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. 1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 1Co 15:27 For he hath put all things...
Read MoreIS THERE LOST BOOKS SPOKEN OF IN THE BIBLE?
1Ch 29:26 Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 1Ch 29:27 And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. 1Ch 29:28 And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead. 1Ch 29:29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, 1Ch 29:30 With all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries. As you know you find the references to “the book of Jasher,” and to “the book of Nathan...
Read MoreGIANTS AFTER THE FLOOD?
Gen 6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, Gen 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. Gen 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. Gen 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. It is my understanding that there was not another incident of this sort after the flood. I know that there are a number of different ideas and theories about...
Read More